They found a small, shadowed alleyway to stand in while they refined what to do next.

"OK then guys. Anyone want to sneak into the Sanctum to check if it's clear before we go in there?" Strange asked. They were in complete solitude as far as he could tell, except for a couple of spiders scuttling across the ground, but it felt appropriate to whisper.

"On it, boss," saluted Scott. He flipped his helmet over his face. "I'll be back. Also, Loki, I still know I've seen you somewhere before, but I'm still working on it."

"Er... OK then," Loki said, confused.

Scott pressed the button on his glove and seemingly vanished as he shrank, mounted a flying ant and flew towards the Sanctum, which looked familiar but still weird in this other timeline.

Loki leant against the wall and looked around him thoughtfully. "This dimension feels weird, doesn't it?"

"In what way?" asked Stephen. It didn't feel particularly weird to him, no more than their home dimension really. "Because it's sunny?"

"No. I can't quite put my finger on it," Loki said. "Do you feel it Wanda?"

"Yeah, I thought it seemed weird too," she agreed. "Not quite sure what though."

They both made eye contact and Stephen assumed they were both trying to figure out what it was, but they kept staring at each other for a duration of time Strange thought was slightly weird. He knew he was missing something here. "Um, I'm almost afraid to ask, but what are you two doing?"

"We're having a telepathic conversation," Loki said, turning to Stephen. "What did you think was happening? Actually, don't answer that."

"I didn't know you... so why were you staring at each other?" Stephen blustered.

"Why are you staring at me while you're talking to me?" Loki countered.

"Good point," Stephen admitted. He looked over at the Sanctum, wondering if Scott had got in yet. He turned back to them again. "What do you think is weird?"

"I think it's just the general feel of being in a different version of reality," Wanda guessed, shrugging. "I wonder how different this timeline is to the one we came from."

"Well, it's sunny, for one thing. Like, blinding sunshine. Bet you the next dimension will be snowing," Stephen said, casually leaning back against the wall without realising it was further away than he'd anticipated but hiding it well. "Now I'm here I'm starting to wonder how this was created though... in the first place, I mean."

"That's what I think is weird," Loki commented. "It just feels like this place was made from something... related but unrelated to the Avengers' time heist. But what I'm not sure."

"Maybe we should focus on stopping Mordo before we worry about this though," Wanda pointed out. She crossed her arms thoughtfully. "We don't want to be side-tracked by how we're doing this rather than what we're doing, if you get my meaning."

"Fair point."

They waited around for a while until Scott returned with his new ant friend. In his usual dramatic style, he seamlessly grew to his regular size in front of them and took off his helmet. "No-one's there," he reported. "Place looks deserted to me. Maybe you're out at the Wizard-Mart for groceries?"

"Hilarious, Scott. OK then team, let's move," said Stephen, feeling like the leader of a group of spies, or maybe assassins. Perhaps this was how Captain America felt when he started missions with the Avengers.