Chapter 11

Phil Coulson is not looking forward to this meeting. Finding out that he had in fact survived Loki's attack and had been alive for months did not go over particularly well with the group, especially Stark. But having to introduce a sorcerer to the guy…this was going to cause a headache of migraine proportions. Fury had happily dumped the whole thing in his lap and disappeared as effortlessly as he arrived. You would think that after 20 years the man would lay off the theatrics but he doesn't. He really enjoys the air of mystery that he gives off when he does that stuff, even if he would never admit it. Add in the fact that the team is still reeling from the fight between Rogers and Stark, not to mention the breakout from the prison and even if Barton and Lang are being monitored now, the Captain, Barnes, Falcon, and Wanda are all still missing. Not to mention that Wakanda has become suddenly reluctant to discuss them anymore despite T'challa being so determined to catch him before. Then the sudden revelation that Wakanda wasn't some poverty stricken closed off society but one that was so technologically advanced that it could literally make Stark jealous? Fury was still trying to figure out how they had managed to hide that from SHIELD and once the rest of the world realized that there was a new global superpower, and in fact that it had been one for longer than any other? He was glad that he was not having to deal with that.

"Phil!" looking up he spots Pepper Potts and smiles in relief. A friendly face. She wasn't mad he was alive, just relieved.

"Ms. Potts" he replied politely as they walked towards the elevator.

"Tony said that there was something happening on the west coast?" she says slyly but then stops when he looks at her. "Of which I know nothing of course" she assures him.

Phil sighs. These people have no concept of compartmentalization. "Yes. I have an expert who agreed to brief the team coming. I hope we won't need to get involved" he said with an expression that suggested the opposite.

Pepper nodded and they exchanged small talk before she got off on the floor below his. "You'll do fine" she assures him before turning to the small crowd that was anxiously waiting for her with reports, notebooks, and other items demanding the attention of the CEO of Stark Industries.

When the doors opens on his floor he steps out and quickly walks into the new conference room of the Avengers in their upstate headquarters. He liked the tower but there was something to be said about the security advantages of the new location. "Agent Coulson"

"Colonel Rhodes" Phil nods at the military man now assigned to work with Stark full time.

"So what's up with this meeting Coulson?" Natasha asks as she takes her seat next to Stark and Vision.

It took a bit but finally everyone settled into place and gave Phil their attention. "So what is going on in California that has SHIELD so worked up?" Tony asks with his usual level of snark, tossing up a piece of dried fruit and chewing. "My sensors haven't detected any issues." California was his home and the idea of something happening there without him even noticing was personally insulting. Of course it was northern California which made it easier to explain that he missed it.

"They probably wouldn't" he begins as the door opens and Maria Hill steps in followed by the guest of honor.

"Agent Coulson. Dr. Strange is here" she says and despite her cool professional manner, she looks shaken and Phil guesses that the doctor probably arrived in style.

"Thank you. Dr. Strange, thank you again for coming. Everyone, I would like to introduce Dr. Stephen Strange" he says offering the man a seat.

Tony actually looks speechless and while he might wish it would last, the man quickly recovers. "Exactly what kind of Doctor are you? Yoga? Acupuncture?" The man was wearing blue robes, yellow gloves and a red cape! He looked like some new age whack job!

"Neurosurgeon" Stephen says simply and stares at the other man.

"Friday?"

"Dr. Stephen Strange. Former chief neurosurgeon at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York. Graduated from Columbia University Medical School with top marks. Residency at New York University hospital. Suffered major trauma to hands in car accident which permanently injured him and made operating impossible. Considered one of top ten neurosurgeons in the world for the three years preceding his accident. Dr. Strange has received forty-six awards and recognitions from various medical associations including the Congress of Neurological Surgeons…"

"Okay, he's legit" Tony mutters and ignores the looks of enjoyment at his reaction from the others. "But what does a neurosurgeon have to do with this? Is it all some kind of mental condition?"

Phil admitted to himself he was a little smug at the reaction of the other man. "Dr. Strange is not here in his capacity as a doctor. He is here as the Earth's Sorcerer Supreme."

Leaning back Phil watches the reactions of the various members. Colonel Rhodes looks confused, but not particularly surprised as it seems like every day it is something or another. Natasha looks unimpressed, or disbelieving, but too professional to let on that she feels any particular way and Vision, unsurprisingly, looks totally unsurprised.

Stark however. "A wizard?" he finally manages.

"Actually most of those you call wizards are actually either Enchanters, skilled in the domain of Magecraft or Alchemists. I am a sorcerer. My domain of magic is sorcery…to be precise" Stephen responds in a tone that is eerily reminiscent of a disappointed teacher with an unprepared student.

Tony looks totally off kilter for a second before turning to Phil. "Seriously? So I'm guessing that Shield thinks this is some kind of magical mystery so you called in Harry Potter? Or are you a magical Sherlock Holmes?"

Stephen smiles "Do I look like Sherlock Holmes?" he asks Tony.

"Actually" Phil interrupts "Dr. Strange represents Earth's mystical defenses." Phil is very proud that he managed to say that with a completely straight face.

Tony stares before looking at the others. "No…just…no" he says shaking his head.

"Not that much of a surprise all things considered" Rhodes says with a shrug.

"You can't believe this!" Tony complains looking at his old friend.

"It would seem that Shield believes it, so it is so difficult to accept?" Vision asks calmly.

Stephen nods in acknowledgement but he can see this isn't going to be easy. "Perhaps this will help?" he offers and holds his hands up and creates a portal. The circle of fiery sparks forms on the side of the room and in a few seconds it opens to an endless field of blue white ice. The avengers all stand up to stare at the scene in front of them, the icy cold blasting into the room way more intense than the biggest freezer.

Tony moves over to the portal and holds out his hand but it doesn't encounter anything. Reaching for his watch he touches a button and the face pops off and the mini drone hovers before him. "Friday, send it over" he orders and the little robot flies through.

Stephen smiles and closes the portal and Tony jumps back. "Thanks…it was getting cold" Natasha says with a bland tone that causes several of her teammates to roll their eyes.

"Friday" Tony says looking at their guest. "Where is Tiny?"

"Tiny is currently six kilometers from the abandonded city of Etah in northern Greenland" the clipped voice of Tony's AI replies.

"You can create a quantum tunnel?" Tony concludes.

"Magical portal" Stephen corrects and restrains his smile at the tic in the man's face at his pronouncement.

"Tony, let's allow the man to speak. You can worry about how he does it later" Natasha says finally and Tony looks like he wants to argue but he doesn't have enough facts yet so he agrees with a least some dignity retained. Besides, now that he knows it can be done it shouldn't take him long to figure out how to duplicate it.

"Thank you. The facts are that there was a major upheaval in Northern California in the magical structure of the planet. An ancient power site, a Nematon, which in this case was a large tree that sat on a cluster of the ley lines that cross our planet, was destroyed."

"I am sorry, but what is a ley line?" Vision asks.

"Ley lines are geomagnetic lines that carry the energy of life on the planet, also called Telluric currents" Stephen replies easily. "They cross the earth filtering and purifying magic and life energy. Think of it as the blood system of the planet and Nematons are the liver."

"So this is a problem because the magic energy will now be polluted?" Natasha guesses. Vision is looking less skeptical at the explanation.

"Normally it would be but a new Nematon was formed at the same time."

"So everything is now normal again?" Rhodes asks.

"Not exactly. In this case a young man was learning about his own magic. In a fight with a…" he pauses and looks at Stark and sighs "dark druid, he managed to destroy her and the Nematon and ascended into a magical being known as an Arcanist."

Tony felt his brain hurt. Druids?! That's it, if he is going to have to sit through this he should go ahead and start drinking...maybe also investigate how this guy got a medical license.

"So is he a threat?" Natasha asks with a calculating expression.

"Depends. If someone or something threatens him or his? Then yes. Even I would find it difficult to challenge him in his territory. Otherwise? Probably not. He has other concerns to deal with that are happening as a result of his ascension."

"Other concerns?" Rhodes asks looking interested.

"The last Arcanist had a significant impact on the lands he lived on. Magic changed the land making it more supportive of magical beings. We have already seen signs that creatures are heading there to make their home in his presence.

"That explains the mermaids" Phil mutters but based on the team's faces they heard him.

"Yes" Stephen nods at Phil with a smirk. "The ley lines all over this hemisphere are shifting as a result and his magic is naturally cleansing the land, air, and water removing many poisons that are present as a result of industrialization. I imagine that Northern California will become one of the most magical places on Earth in a very short time."

"Disney isn't going to like that" Tony mutters and Rhodey chuckles.

"You said the last Arcanist?" Natasha asks as everyone seems to be trying to figure out what to think about this new information.

"You probably heard of him. Lived in Great Britain. Name of Merlin" Strange loved the looks of absolute shock on their faces.

"Perhaps we can get some specific details?" Phil suggests and they all nod in agreement, even Tony who is starting to look interested.

Alan Deaton puts the covers back on the jars of herbs before returning them to his shelves. It is amazing how things are changing even in mundane ways. His herb garden at home, where he grows many of the herbs he uses in his work even if he is semi-retired as old habits die hard, has been blooming like never before and the herbs are at least twice as powerful as any he has grown since the fire. It appears that Mr. Stilinski's presence is having a whole slew of unintended consequences.

He sighs. That reminds him of the letter he received this morning from his sister. She had left in order to report to the elder druids in North America, mostly so she could deliver the Morgaine's instructions in person, and she had obviously enjoying sharing with him that they had been rather unhappy with the events here in Beacon Hills. They were even more unhappy about the rather terse instructions to 'butt out' of things that Marin had delivered to them. Apparently they had noticed the shifting magics and had determined that they need to intervene to restore the balance before she had arrived. They had argued but when his sister suggested they complain to the Morgaine and Merlin if they didn't like it, they quickly found other projects. It seemed that his old teachers were not willing to challenge those two and Marin was enjoying a bit of notoriety from being one of the few druids to have had personal contact with the Morgaine in decades.

His sister had also informed him that she had already been approached by no less than a half dozen fellow druids who wished to relocate to the territory and had asked her, and him as the former Hale Emissary, to forward their requests to Stiles and Derek. Alan had informed Derek of her reports to the council and the Alpha had agreed to discuss it with them both once she returned. The idea of more druids coming to the territory was one he hadn't mentioned yet but based on his last conversation with Derek and Stiles, there was certainly room in Stiles' territory even if not in Beacon Hills. These six were just the first and he was sure that practitioners of the other domains would be calling soon as well. Either way, it was up to Derek and Stiles and Alan would help how he could. While he had admittingly pulled back from the Hales after the fire, maybe more than he should, he was not about to ignore Elizabeth's instructions. Besides, his own magics were strengthening by being here and he rather appreciated that so he would be a bit more proactive if that's what was necessary.

The back door opened quickly and loudly and Alan looked up and watched as Scott walked in, shaking off the rain, and smiled as he looked at his boss before taking off his coat and moving over to the animal cages to begin his chores. "Good afternoon Mr. MCall. Anything new happening?" the vet asks easily.

"Not really. Still nothing from the other night. Jackson and Isaac are split on whether it was the same thing that Boyd and Erica encountered or not. We are all in agreement that it wasn't the centaurs though. The scents were wrong and their tracks were actually really obvious so Stiles has been wondering if it was that Deer thing his dad saw. Oh, one thing though. We did find out that Charyl and Kreyna didn't actually see all of their other herd members die. Three of the fighters were killed along with two other mares at the start of the attack, but then they were separated from the others when they fled but when no one showed up at their safe spot, Kreyna decided it was safer for them to run. Stiles wants to see if he can find a way to figure out if any of the others managed to escape."

"A noble effort" Deaton agreed. He had already reached out to some of his own network to see if anyone had any word on the situation. The truth was that there were only a half dozen herds in all of North and South America so they are hard to find. He was about to share his news when a particularly loud thunderclap shook the entire building. Both men looked up in mild surprise before turning to the animals who were loudly protesting the noise. Scott rushed over to tend to the upset dogs and Deaton decided it could wait and he still had several weeks before Marin's relocation efforts would need to be addressed so he would take so time to think about it and see if he could get any more information before calling on the Alphas.

"Would you calm down!" Lydia said exasperation clear in her voice as Stiles got up to pace for the third time in five minutes. He had been acting like this ever since he felt his friends getting closer to town.

"You don't understand Lydia!" Stiles said looking entirely too uncertain.

"We get it Stiles" Allison assures him. "Your friends were there for you when you started all of this, but I don't think you need to worry that they will now feel differently."

Stiles looked at the two women for a second before plopping back down on the couch. He did realize they got it, but it was hard. Martinique had helped him so much when the rest of the pack had shut him out, not to mention getting him connected with Kelsey. Speaking of "Lydia did you still want to get that tattoo? The one that Allison and I got?"

Lydia only takes a second to remember their earlier discussion but she nods. "Definitely. After Peter…yes I definitely want it. What about the others?" she asks.

Stiles blanches for a second. "I will have to ask Kelsey but Derek told me about his and I am not sure if any of the others will want to go through that." He gets up and starts pacing again.

Lydia sighs and looks at Allison who is trying not to smile. Stiles had asked both of them to be here when his witch friends from San Francisco arrived so he could explain things. He and Derek had discussed it earlier, surprisingly it was all pretty civil, and decided to use the loft. Derek had the wolves out but were on standby if needed. Allison and Lydia were going to be there for moral support and because both of them knew Lizzie. Turns out Lydia had managed to exchange numbers with her during her visit and had been communicating via text and skype since the woman had returned home.

"What if they get mad?" Stiles asks biting his nail. Lydia frowned at the sight.

"Stiles, they are probably more concerned about their own issues. You said that Martinique was shook up from talking with the High Witch. She is probably star struck. Remember how Deaton was when he met Lizzie? I bet it is the same with her and the other witches she is bringing" Allison told him.

Lydia rolled her eyes. "Just explain it to them Stiles. They would have had to deal with you soon enough. You know that they are probably dealing with the itch Satomi and the other wolves described by now. Your territory easily covers that far" she says looking rather pleased.

"I am more interested in the Alchemist to be honest" Allison says looking curious. Both of the others look at her. "Come on, you don't think that it's funny that one of the chemistry professors at Stanford is actually an Alchemist? Besides, didn't you say that the Marshall Pack's Emissary was an alchemist? Maybe he could help her out?"

Stiles grunted. Not a bad idea actually. He wouldn't mind learning a bit more himself and he wondered if the man would be willing to tutor him. He and Lydia had discussed pushing for more sharing among people in their territory but that had been a few days ago and they hadn't really settled on a plan. But then M had called him that morning telling him that she was on her way. She was bringing two members of her coven, Kiran, witches from two other covens from UC-Santa Cruz and Berkley ironically enough, as well as the alchemist from Stanford. Apparently there were quite a few practitioners of the arts on and around colleges. Who knew?

"How far are they?" Lydia asks taking a sip of her tea. She had gotten Derek to ask Satomi for suggestions and the Alpha had sent the information of the blend she gets from a small shop in San Francisco. Jackson had taken her the next day and she had to admit that the trip had been worthwhile. She had gotten at least a dozen different blends and she was happily working her way through them.

Stiles looked off to nowhere for a second, that look that showed he was inside his magic, before he returned and looked even worse. "Less than a mile" he says and Allison stands up.

"I will go meet them and bring them up" she declares and heads for the door. Stiles manages to sit down for nearly a full ten seconds before he is up pacing again and Lydia takes another sip of tea. This will take some time she thinks.

Trager did not relish reporting this to Raldolph. He had joined the man in hunting the Alpha Pack after his uncle had been killed by the crazy witch Kali when they ran into them up in Michigan two years ago. He had been enraged by the loss, his own family wasn't hunting as long as Davies' had been, let alone the Argents or any of the other major families, but they had three generations now so he wasn't some noob hunter.

They had arrived easily enough and moved into a safehouse about forty minutes from Beacon Hills and things had been quiet, really quiet. Too quiet.

"Well?" Raldolph demanded as soon as he walked in. The man had been tense, but no more than usual during this hunt and Trager could tell that he was feeling like they had finally caught up.

He sighed. "There were some signs of the mutts, but they are all old. There has been no sign anywhere of them. There were animal mutilations, usually a sign they are targeting another pack, but that was days ago and since then there is nothing. We haven't been able to access any sources as they all report to Argent and you didn't want to alert him to our presence yet" he adds looking at the man.

"Argent is too close to the Hales. I don't know how on earth he can stomach them, but I wouldn't trust him for anything" he mutters.

He really didn't want to share this last item. "I did get a message from my aunt back in Pennsylvania that she thought we should know about" he said slowly. Davies looked at him expectantly knowing he wouldn't have mentioned it if it wasn't important. "She said that Argent, the Grand Matriarch back in Europe, has issued a 'kill on sight' order on Gerard Argent."

Randolf Davies is shocked. He knows that those old hunter families are crazy sometimes, but she put out a kill on one of her own? The man who ran the Argent clan in America for decades!? "What the hell?"

This was the hard part. "She also reported that the Hales had killed all but three members of the Alpha Pack and that Kali and Deucalion were both confirmed dead" he said as he watched his leader stare at him incredulously.

"What?" Davies roared. That was impossible! There is no way that beaten and worthless dog managed to kill or defeat seven alphas! Let alone Deucalion, Kali, and Ennis! Those three had killed more hunters than he could count. After the man turned on the hunters at the Argent Peace summit and betrayed them, Deucalion had been killing hunters without mercy or care. "Who reported this?" he demanded.

"Chris Argent reported it" Trager said carefully but he knew he had to continue. He had joined this hunt to avenge his uncle and if true, then things were over but he doubted that the others would feel quite the same way. "We have also heard from some less reliable sources that several other packs have confirmed it and are making overtures with Hale. We have fairly good info that the Marshall Pack is looking to formally ally with the Hales after they found out."

Dammit! Davies did not have a plan for this. His men were hungry for revenge on the alphas and hearing that they were destroyed would not only risk him losing some men, but it was almost a guarantee to lose him the financial support he was getting from a number of the families. He might be able to get something out of this if he could finally end the Hales, but with Argent in the way, it would not be easy. He was going to have to actually talk with the man to know for certain what the hell was going on in Beacon Hills!