The portal opened with a flash of orange and gold light in the dark alleyways of New York, circling outwards until it encompassed the space between the brick walls on either side. The young woman's forest green robes swished around her feet as she walked rough the empty night, leaving footprints in the fine layer of dirt and dust on the ground. The portal closed behind her, leaving her in darkness. She moved slowly and silently up the accurately named Bleaker Street, which stood still and desolate in the early hours of the morning. The road was absent of cars, the sidewalks of people, and the buildings absent of light. All except one.

Mei Zhao stood, bathed in the dim glow flooding onto the street from the wide, circular window high above her on the building. The design of the window, though different, reminded her greatly of her home, and she felt a twang of homesickness. Mei stepped forwards pushing against the large doors of the New York Sanctum.

The doors didn't budge. She crossed her wrists, and uncrossed them, waving her hands past the handles. There was a dull blue glow behind the locks as the matter bent to her will, and the doors clicked open. Mei pushed again, and the doors swung inwards to reveal the vast entryway to the Sanctum. Her footsteps echoed throughout the building as she stepped inside.

"This sanctum is protected." A mans voice announced, coming seemingly from all directions. "You are not welcome here."

"I come in search of Master Steven Strange." Mei announced, her Cantonese accent hanging off her words.

"Many do." The voice said. The door behind her slammed shut, and orange sparks flickered at the top of a large stairway straight ahead of her, which had a large hole smashed through the centre of them.

"My name is Mei Zhao." Mei raised her hands in surrender, "I come in search of Strange on orders from the Hong Kong Sanctum."

The sparks disappeared, followed by a long pause. There was a fractal shimmering of light at the top of the stairs, a man stepped out of nowhere into view. "Steven Strange is gone." The man said. "He has not been heard from since... The incident." He regarded her from the upper floor. He was slightly taller than Mei, and of stocky build. He had shaved dark hair, the same colour as the moustache and soul patch on his round face.

"Is he..."

The man seemed to wrestle with the word as he spoke. "Presumably."

Mei lowered her hands. "I am sorry for your loss."

"It is not my loss you should be sorry for, Miss Zhao. It is Earths. It has lost its Sorcerer Supreme for the second time." He turned on his feet. "Come, please." He said, disappearing down a hall on the second floor. Mei followed, creating a glowing platform of geometric shapes in the centre of the hole where the stairs should have been, using it as a stepping stone as she leapt over the gap.

"You must be Master Wong." Mei said, joining the man at a table, where he gestured for her to sit. A tea set was ready on the polished wooden surface.

"Indeed." Wong sat down opposite her, and poured two cups.

"Master Minoru sends her regards." Mei said, sipping the hot drink.

Wong nodded slowly. "And how she?"

Mei placed her tea down. "She is... Struggling. We lost many of those inhabiting the Sanctum during the incident."

"But not too many that she could not spare a sorceress to send here, clearly."

"No, I guess not." Mei chuckled, but her eyes remained sad. "But I am hardly the most valuable asset for defending the Sanctum." She admitted. "I have not trained for longer than a few months. I am but a messenger among her ranks."

Wong nodded, taking a sip of his tea. "So the Hong Kong Sanctum remains guarded." Mei nodded. "And what of London?"

"Their numbers have dwindled signifigantly." Mei sighed, "But they have regathered their forces. It remains operational." She tucked a strand of her black hair behind her ear. "And what of here?"

Wong smiled sadly. "I am sitting right in front of you, Miss Zhao."

Mei looked around at the large, empty building. "Surely... At a time like as this, the Sanctums are under more threat than ever before. Shall I send word to Kamar-Taj for reinforcements?"

Wong considered this for a long moment. "Perhaps, I will, if the need should arise." He sighed, beginning to pack away the tea set. "The world is a much different place now, should what I believe happened has."

Mei had always been taught not to ask unnecessary questions, even before joining the order of the mystic arts. Her own mind fought with itself for a few moments, before her curiosity got the better of her. "And what do you believe has happened?"

Wong regarded her for a moment. The woman was young for a sorceress, maybe twenty, maybe less. "The Infinity Stones have been gathered, and used together to deal damage of drastic proportion across the universe."

"The Infinity Stones?"

"It's a long story." Wong waved the question aside, "As long as the universe is old, in the most literal sense. What is important is that with a disaster on such a dimensional scale emanating from here on earth-"

"The planet becomes the biggest target in the universe to mystical threats." Mei finished, the true impact of the incident dawning on her.

"You catch on quickly for only a messenger." Wong nodded. There was a thump against the door downstairs, and both sorcerers turned to look in the direction of the noise. "You were not accompanied by another?" Wong asked.

Mei shook her head. Another loud thump echoed through the Sanctum. "And I doubt you were expecting any other guests."

Wong stood up, summoning glowing shields around his hands. "Wait here." He instructed.

"But Master Wong, I-"

"Wait." He said, more harshly. Mei fell back into her seat, which she had begun to stand up from. There was a final crash as the doors flew open, slamming against their hinges. Wong rushed past at a surprising speed, and disappeared from view. Mei waited impatiently as she watched the sorcerer vanish beyond the hall. A sound echoed up from the stairway. A rasping, guttural growl which emanated from the entrance hall. Followed by another. And another. Mei could hear the crackle of energy as Wong began to cast more spells. She couldn't sit still any longer.

Mei leapt out of her chair, and sprinted down the hall, her robes billowing out behind her as she ran. She slid to a halt at the top of the stairs, and looked down on the scene below. Wong stood in the centre of the room, spinning slowly in a circle with his shields outstretched, keeping the writhing circle of creatures around him at bay. Even the sight of the creatures made Mei's blood run cold.

Their bodies, which seemed human at first, were twisted, and elongated, with bones twisted at sickening angles, and knuckles dragging along the floor. Their skin was thick and charred black, and their eyeless faces were focused on Wong. Snarling, overextended, fang filled mouths snapped at him as he moved, their cheeks melted away to reveal more teeth. Wong caught a glimpse of Mei as he span. "I told you-"

In his moment of distraction, one of the creatures jumped. Wong spunaround, using his shield to slice off the creatures head, but in doing so exposing his right side to attack. The creatures began to pile on top of him, clawing at his robes and biting into his flesh.

Mei began to panic. She had never used combat magic before. She dug her now sweating hands together, and visualised the spell. "Come on, come on..." She muttered, grinding her fingernails into her skin, begging for the spell to work. Sparks flew between her hands. She pulled them apart, feeling her fingers stretching, igniting, accessing another realm of matter. Mei flung her arms apart, flailing the Erdrich Whips which hung from her fingers. She let out a triumphant laugh, before being reminded of the current situation when one of the creatures noticed her, and came bounding up the stairs, leaping effortlessly over the missing ones.

Mei threw her hand out, and the glowing whips wrapped themselves around the creatures neck. She wretched her hand sideways, flinging it over the railing and back onto the first floor. She looked down, and saw Wong emit a burst of energy, sending several of the monsters flying back and slamming into walls, and shattering the lights around them as he regained his feet. Mei leapt over the banisters and landed on the wooden floor beside him with a thud, the only light left in the room their weapons of pure glowing energy.

The creatures advanced again, leaping out of the shadows and throwing themselves mindlessly at the pair. Mei threw her arms about, the whips cracking around her head and slicing through the creatures flesh like a hot knife through butter. A hissed in pain as it dissolved into ash. Another quickly took its place, leaping through the falling particles and pinning Mei to the ground. The swore violently in Cantonese as a set of claws ripped through her clothing, piercing her flesh. It bit downwards, digging its teeth into her arm and she screamed. Wong spun around and kicked the creature off her. Mei quickly scrambling upwards, wrapping a whip from each hand around the creatures arms and pulling hard, tearing its limbs from its body. The creature writhed in pain before collapsing to the ground and disintegrating.

Mei swung around, the momentum of her own whips causing them to wrap around her shoulders, burning her flesh, the smell of which only seemed to rile the creatures up more. With a yell of pain she managed to tear the whips from her body just in time to decapitate another creature, which bounded dog like across the ground towards her.

Wong let out a gasp of pain as one of the creatures sliced at his back, cutting across his shoulder blades before leaping up and clinging to his back. The sorcerer moved to hit it with his spells, but Mei threw a hand out, the whips wrapping around the creatures neck. She yanked backwards, pulling the animal onto the ground and stoping onto its head, which collapsed into dust under her foot.

The pair stepped closer to each other, pressing their backs together as they turned in a slow circle, staring at the darkness of the Sanctum outside of their flickering field of view. Wong was breathing heavily. "I think thats all-"

A final creature lunged from the darkness, and was easily dispatched of by Wong, who in a single movement sliced its chest in two. When nothing else happened for a few moments, he began to cast a different spell, a d finally threw his arms in the air, sending a ball of light above their heads, which hung in the centre of the entryway.

"W-What the hell were they?" Mei panted, swaying slightly on her feet. The smell of blood and decay assaulted her nostrils, and made her head spin. She could feel vast amounts of blood streaming down her front and her arm, pooling on the floor at her feet.

"Mindless Ones." Wong said, his shields disappearing. "Creatures of the Dark Dimension."

Mei willed the whips to disappear. They didn't. "How... How did they get here? How did they get in?" She flicked her wrists, as if trying to flick water off her hands. One of the whips flew out and sliced across her cheek. Eventually, they flickered out of existence.

"They were summoned by someone, likely someone trying to weaken the Sanctums defences." Wong explained, waving a hand and lighting a series of candles which had been extinguished in the battle, and illuminating parts of the room. "The Sanctums defences prevent them from being summoned inside, so they must have been summoned on the street." He cast an annoyed glance back at Mei. "And somebody broke our locks."

"Sorry..." The young woman gave an awkward, uneasy smile, before promptly passing out from blood loss.

* * *

Mei awoke to the soft, familiar smell of tea and harsh, alien smell of disinfectant. Her head pounded, and bandages scratched against the wounds on her chest and arm, reopening some of the scabbed up cuts. A shadow moved into her hazy vision. For a second she mistook it for a Mindless One, and panicked, flailing out a fist. Wong caught the attack before it got anywhere near him. "You're awake." He said casually.

Mei's eyes adjusted to the light of the room. She lay stretched out on a bed in one of the Sanctums many rooms. Morning light streamed through the windows to her left, and a table with a steaming teapot sat against the wall opposite the bed.

"I-I have to-"

"You have to calm down." Wong told her, releasing her hand, which fell limply back to her side.

"But..." Coherent thoughts began to pull themselves together in her mind. "But I was expected back in Hong Kong last night."

Wong chuckled. Mei got the impression it wasn't a sound he was used to making. "You mean two nights ago."

Mei sat bolt upright, and immediately regretted the decision, her head spinning. "Two nights ago? I've been-"

"Unconscious for almost two nights." Wong nodded, pouring himself a cup of tea. "Don't worry. I have sent word to Master Minoru of the attack and of the circumstances."

Mei sat dazed on the bed for a while, crossing her legs. "I... I don't... I apologise for allowing those things to-"

Wong wandered over and handed her a cup. "There's no need." He said hoarsely. "Consider it a learning experience."

Mei took the cup, raising a thin eyebrow at him. "A... A learning experience."

"Even for a Master of the Mystic Arts," Wong explained, pulling over a chair and sitting opposite Mei, "There are many things to learn." He sipped his tea. "For instance, you learned to utilise combat magic."

"Well, I suppose. But I am hardly a Mas-"

"And I," Wong continued, ignoring her, "Learned that I am unequipped to guard the Sanctum alone." Mei nodded slowly. "I have spoken to the council at Kamar-Taj, about your actions." Mei paled slightly. "And we have come to an agreement that the New York Sanctum is in need of another guardian. Should, of course, you be willing to accept the position."

Mei almost dropped the teacup, the hot liquid spilling over the side and burning her fingers, soaking into the sheets. "Excuse me?" She asked.

"You would need to be further trained, of course." Wong admitted, placing his empty cup on the table. "And seeing as Kamar-Taj is still recovering from the incident, it would have to occur here, in the Sanctum-"

"Yes." Mei interrupted him.

"Sorry?"

"Yes. I-I accept the position." Mei said quickly.

Wong smiled, nodding. "A wise decision, Miss Zhao." He surveyed her for a moment. "How ready are you to complete a task?"

Mei clambered off the bed, rising unsteadily to her feet. "Right away, sir." She beamed.

"Good, good." Wong nodded. He wandered over to the corner, and retrieved something. He handed a broom to Mei. "There is still a large amount of dust in foyer, which will need to be cleared." He inclined his head towards the door.

Mei clasped the broom a little disappointedly. "Yes, Master Wong." She said eventually.

Wong walked with her out into the foyer, Mei using the broom to support herself until she regathered her balance.

"It will be nice having an apprentice around here." Wong decided, as she made her way down the stairs.

Mei looked around at the New York Sanctum as she descended the stairs, careful to avoid the hole in the centre of them. She could certainly het used to staying there...