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pick95 · 3 days ago

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Somewhere, The Stars Remembered

Part 1 of I, carrion.

Pairing: Earth-828 Johnny Storm x Witch!Earth-616 Reader Synopsis: It was supposed to be an escape, a world secret to only you, but someone made you want to stay. Genre & warnings: SPOILER FREE!! Fluff to angst(what more do I write?), nothing else other than, get your tissues ready I guess? I'm sorry. Word count: 4.6k | masterlist

a/n: There are SPOILERS for the end credit scenes of Thunderbolts* and possibly F4:FS in the comments so don't open comments okay!!

You were never supposed to stay. Not in Earth-828. Not with him.

But it started with a flicker of curiosity.

The multiverse was a door you had no business knocking on, but ever since the battle with Thanos and the rise and fall of Wanda Maximoff, you'd learned that sometimes, doors knock back.

Under the watchful eye of Doctor Strange, you were training — closely monitored, conditionally trusted. You had power not unlike America Chavez: rare, unpredictable, and intimately tied to the fabric of the multiverse. He didn’t say it outright, but you knew he feared it. So you studied, meditated, restrained.

But restlessness bloomed in your bones.

One quiet evening, Strange gone to Kamar-Taj for a summit, you were left alone in the Sanctum Sanctorum’s vast, humming library. You had promised to only review sanctioned texts — tomes already vetted, cleared, catalogued. Instead, you reached for the ones above, the ones behind silent sigils and whispered warnings.

You found the book buried in the lower archives of the Sanctum — a dusty thing about frequency planes and interdimensional pressure points. You didn’t even cast anything major. Just a ripple. A whisper of your power. And the portal bloomed before you like a tear in space, glowing soft around the edges.

Earth-828. But you didn’t know that at the time. All you knew that, it was somewhere new.

You stepped through.

⌞══════════════════════════════════════════⌝

The first few times were quick. You slipped through the cracks with spells of cloaking and silence, walking among the chrome-lined streets and glowing glass towers. There was something poetic about it — the way neon met vintage, the way people dressed like retro comics but lived in buildings that pulsed with energy. It felt like a postcard, like a dream painted in old film colors.

You stayed invisible — literally. Your aura cloaked you naturally when you traveled between dimensions, a safety mechanism born of your power. You wandered quietly, just observing. A few minutes. Then you’d return.

But the rip hadn’t gone unnoticed.

His sensors picked up on your interdimensional signature, but Reed couldn’t track it to a fixed location. Your presence was too light, your signature too fleeting. But still, they knew someone or something, was coming through. There was a shimmer in the air every time you crossed over, like static, like a breath held too long. Reed couldn’t see you, but he felt your presence. And after the fifth crossing, he sent Johnny Storm to find you.

Reed Richards never cared much for names. Not the kind that came from different Earths or slipped between dimensions. So when his instruments began detecting flickers of destabilizing energy — spikes in multiversal frequency along the edge of Manhattan’s skyline. He didn’t ask who. He only asked how soon it could be shut down.

He had always theorized the multiverse. He had written about it in dusty old journals and modeled it in quantum projections no one else dared attempt. But theories were safer than proof. The truth was… Reed was afraid. Afraid that if even one hole opened, others would follow. And this Earth, this version, was stable. He would not risk it.

So when you showed up, a flicker in a courtyard, a blip on his carefully tuned sensors, Reed’s first instinct wasn’t wonder. It was containment.

He didn’t know your name. Didn’t know you came from a place of battle and blood and loss, a girl shaped by war and trying to find joy again. All he knew was that your presence sent his equilibrium readings spiraling.

He called it an anomaly. A threat. An intrusion.

But later, Johnny called it you.

⌞══════════════════════════════════════════⌝

It was raining the night you met him.

The sky of Earth-828 didn’t fall with gray, but amber and pink — like an old oil painting melting. You wore the hood of your cloak up, casting a quiet veil spell around you, walking along the edge of a rooftop garden three blocks from the Baxter Building. That’s when the sky flared.

He came streaking through the sky in a blaze of gold and fire, trailing heat and a whoop of glee. Your breath caught.

He landed with a thud beside you, flame licking off his body like a living sun, eyes locked on you beneath the soft veil of your invisibility.

“I know you’re there,” he said, voice casual, but sharp with curiosity. “Your magic’s cool and all, but it doesn’t bend light like you think.”

You froze.

He took a step forward, flame receding slightly, revealing his boyish grin and sun-kissed hair still ruffled from the wind.

“You’re the anomaly,” he said. “Been chasing your signature for days.”

You let the veil drop.

He blinked. “Whoa.”

“Sorry,” you murmured, already raising your hand to summon a portal back. “I didn’t mean to—”

“No, wait.” His eyes scanned you — not in suspicion, but fascination.

“Where are you from?”

You didn’t answer.

“You gonna run?”

“No.”

“Good,” he said, folding his arms. “I hate when the pretty ones vanish on me.”

You rolled your eyes, but didn’t walk away. He captivated you. This was worth exploring more.

That was the first time.

⌞══════════════════════════════════════════⌝

Johnny didn’t go back to the Building right away that day.

He flew for a while — long loops above the skyline, fire trailing behind him like a comet tail. He needed to burn the adrenaline out of his system. Because he’d found you. You weren’t a rift or a monster. You were just a girl.

And that meant Reed didn’t need to know.

A girl wasn't a threat.

When he finally touched down at the Baxter Building, Reed was waiting in the lab, hunched over a floating matrix of dimensional readings.

“Well?” Reed asked without looking up. “Did you find the source?”

Johnny hesitated. “Nothing. Just a weird heat signature — old flare activity from the skyline. Your sensors probably ghosted.”

Reed frowned. “Unlikely.”

Johnny shrugged. “Or maybe you’re finally slipping. Want me to call Sue for a second opinion?”

Reed gave him a look, but didn’t argue. “I’ll recalibrate the harmonic receivers. Maybe I missed a background echo.”

Johnny exhaled as casually as he could. “You do that.”

He left the lab and ducked into his room, heart hammering. He’d just lied to the smartest man on Earth. But he didn’t feel guilty. Not really.

Because you weren’t a threat.

You were... real. And kind. And a little sad in a way that made him want to set things on fire until you smiled again.

⌞══════════════════════════════════════════⌝

The days after bled into each other like the warm tones of Earth-828’s sky. You kept returning — not just for the city now, but for him. He met you at rooftops, fire escapes, quiet corners of the park where kids weren’t flying drones but kites. He brought you coffee once, said he figured out your favorite blend. He guessed right.

Johnny talked a lot. But with you, he listened more. He told you about flying, about Reed’s endless tests, about feeling like everyone thought he was just the showoff. And you told him about your Earth, about Strange (but not everything), about feeling like a passenger in your own life sometimes.

“You’re not just a passenger,” he said once, eyes soft. “You’re the one driving the damn ship.”

You laughed. “Is that a space metaphor?”

“Obviously,” he smirked. “I’m a rocket man, remember?”

You learned to stop being afraid of how quickly you started to care.

He touched your wrist when he laughed. His thumb would brush yours when he handed you things. Once, he tried to mimic your cloaking ability by hiding behind a lamppost and pretending no one could see him.

You laughed so hard your sides ached.

⌞══════════════════════════════════════════⌝

The night nearing the fall, he took you to the observatory above the Baxter Building. The cautiousness of being detected was forgotten. Reed didn’t find you this long now so you let your guard down. You stood beneath the stars, his jacket draped over your shoulders. He didn’t need it. You did.

“I know Reed wouldn’t be okay with this,” he said quietly. “But I don’t care.”

“I know Strange would be furious,” you replied. “But I can’t stop coming here.”

He looked at you then, something sharp and raw behind his eyes.

“Then don’t,” he said.

And he kissed you.

It was soft. Careful. Like he didn’t want to scare you. But the second you leaned in, his hand rose to your cheek, thumb tracing your jaw, and it deepened into something real — something warm. You felt fire beneath his skin, but he held it back.

You kissed him like you were writing your name on this version of Earth.

But the stars do not wait for mortals. No matter how beautiful they were twinkling light years away, they still carry the cruel fate of destruction.

⌞══════════════════════════════════════════⌝

Back home, Reed’s algorithms kept humming. He adjusted his models, tweaked his code, even brought in Valeria to double-check a few strands of multiversal math. Johnny listened from the hallway. He always knew when Reed was getting close — the more agitated he got, the closer he was to truth.

So Johnny started sneaking glances at the terminal, memorizing numbers, checking the threshold charts for multiversal interference. Every time the graphs started to spike, Johnny would time his next visit with you just a little sooner. Just a little longer.

Every trip was a gamble.

But worth it.

⌞══════════════════════════════════════════⌝

The courtyard was quiet at night, the kind of quiet that wrapped itself around you and muffled your thoughts into stillness. It's some sort of a routine now that you meet him at night. You walked slowly, hands tucked into your sleeves as the Baxter Building loomed above, windows dimmed except for one or two lab lights still glowing far up in the structure. You didn’t need to check to know one of them was Johnny’s.

You’d been careful. Always arriving when the world slowed down — past midnight, when Earth-828 seemed to sleep differently than your own. The air here always smelled faintly of something older. Analog. Less touched by the neon-hum of your Earth-616. The cars were heavier, the buildings boxier, but the sky… the sky was the same.

He was waiting for you beneath the skeletal shadow of a rust-covered sculpture in the courtyard. The moon cast soft light along the square tiles, bathing his blonde hair in silver, firelight dancing in the planes of his face as he fiddled with something in his hands.

“You’re not invisible this time,” Johnny teased.

You gave him a tired smile. “Felt safe.”

He stepped closer, a lopsided grin tugging at his lips. “So, I’ve been working on something.”

From behind his back, he pulled out a small clunky device, silver and glass, glowing with soft green light. You raised a brow.

“What is that?”

“Dimensional field dampener. Sort of. It masks the frequency spikes you make when you open a portal. Doesn’t stop you, but makes it harder for guys like Reed to notice.”

You blinked, stunned. “You made me a magic cloak?”

He scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah. Kinda nerdy.”

You took it gently, thumbing the smooth edge. “I love nerdy.”

And you meant it.

He just watched you, quiet for a beat, eyes catching yours like a pull. “I don’t want to stop seeing you.”

“I don’t want to stop either.”

There was a moment of pause as agreement was made between the space of your bodies. Checking whether the universe would reject your appeal or not.

“Can I kiss you?” You blurted out suddenly.

There was a breath of silence. Then a laugh, short and disbelieving, before he stepped forward and brought his hand to your jaw, cradling it like it was something delicate. As if you were a hologram in front of him. If he stepped in the wrong way your projection would disappear.

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

His lips met yours like gravity — not rushed, not greedy, just inevitable. The warmth of him poured into you, like he carried the sun in his chest and was willing to let it spill, just this once. You melted into him, anchoring yourself in his jacket, the heat of his touch grounding you.

And the world narrowed. There was only this kiss. This moment. This boy from another Earth who had flames at his fingertips and the stars in his eyes.

When he pulled back, he didn’t let go of you. His forehead rested against yours, breath mingling in the sliver of space between you.

“You’re incredible,” he murmured, so quiet it barely made it through the cool air. “You know that, right?”

You opened your eyes slowly, meeting his. “I’m starting to believe it.”

You both stood there for a moment, suspended in that quiet warmth, in the feel of belonging that didn’t make sense but it did in your own little secret bubble.

Above you, the moon bared witness to your actions. No matter how damning to the timeline it was.

And somewhere far above the atmosphere, beyond even Johnny’s reach, Reed’s sensors began to flare with renewed urgency. A spike in dimensional energy. A rupture, faint but growing. Something strange in the air.

But down here in the courtyard, it was just you and him.

You dropped your head onto his shoulder, feeling the rise and fall of his chest. “Tell me about space,” you whispered. “What’s it really like?” You’ve been to space before. It was just a curiosity to hear him say it. Maybe his space was different from yours?

He hummed, his arm circling your back. “Lonely. Beautiful. Cold. There’s this… silence that’s different. It’s not empty, just vast. Like everything is still listening. And there’s this feeling, when you look at Earth from that far away… like you understand how small everything really is. And how lucky we are.”

You closed your eyes. “I’d like to see yours one day.”

He smiled into your hair. “I’d take you there. If I could.”

Neither of you spoke for a while after that. You just sat, side by side on the edge of the stone planter, legs bumping, hands brushing, wrapped in the glow of something soft and unspeakable.

But above, invisible and unnoticed, the air was rippling. Like the fabric of this world was breathing wrong.

Like something, or someone, was looking for you.

⌞══════════════════════════════════════════⌝

Meanwhile, in Earth-616…

The Sanctum Sanctorum had grown… quieter.

Not in sound, but in magic. A kind of lull — an odd hush that settled in the corners of spellwork and seeped beneath the wards. At first, Strange didn’t notice. Your aura, cloaked in careful, deliberate shielding, wove itself neatly between the cracks of his attention. You were clever. And more importantly, cautious.

Too cautious.

You still trained every morning. You still studied, asked questions, meditated with a kind of intensity that masked the restlessness under your skin. You never raised suspicion. You never stepped wrong.

But the magic, your magic, left traces, even when cloaked. The moment you stepped out of this Earth’s frequency, you created a tension. A distortion. A soft pull, like someone plucking a single string out of tune in the Loom of time.

He ignored it the first few times.

Strange had grown used to the occasional ripple. The multiverse never sat still, not anymore. And you… you were still grieving. Still healing. He chalked it up to emotional fluctuation. Restlessness. You were young, and the cost of power was always weighty.

But then, around the second week, the distortion sharpened.

Not loud. Not chaotic. Just present, like a tick in the corner of his eye. You'd disappear for an hour. Two. Sometimes three. And when he searched, there was nothing. Not even a blink of magic left behind.

At first, he doubted himself.

He checked the wards. The shields. Even the Sanctum’s heart, where the echoes of other realms occasionally whispered. But there was nothing. You had hidden your trail with frightening precision.

Until you didn’t.

The moment came quietly.

Strange sat in his study, the Book of Vishanti open in front of him. The pages began to flutter — not from wind, but from a pulse. One that didn’t belong to this world. He reached toward the page meant to monitor multiversal tension and watched as a single glyph, a line of balance, quivered. Just once. Like a skipped heartbeat.

Then another ripple followed.

Not subtle this time. Not quiet. It roared.

A tether. Thin but intimate — stretched across the void.

You. He knew it instantly.

And whoever stood at the other end... wasn’t of this Earth.

He closed his eyes, reached inward, and followed the magic like smoke in reverse. When he found the thread you left behind, embedded deep in the weave of your own power, he saw it.

A courtyard, bathed in low moonlight. A strange skyline — not 616.

And you.

Smiling like he hadn’t seen in months. Laughing in a way that felt unfamiliar. Happy.

And beside you stood a young man with fire woven into his very being. His fingers brushed your cheek like it was the most natural thing in the world.

That was all it took.

Strange inhaled sharply, the spell snapping in his palm.

You had fallen in love.

Across dimensions. Behind his back. Using a power you didn’t fully understand.

He stood. Anger wasn’t the first thing he felt.

Fear was.

Fear that you would lose yourself, not just to emotion, but to the unraveling consequences of what this meant. Fear that he'd seen this before. That he’d already failed once.

He remembered Wanda. Her desperation. Her pain. Her delusions of control.

He wouldn’t lose another.

⌞══════════════════════════════════════════⌝

The glow from Johnny’s makeshift field dampener flickered quietly between you both. It cast faint rings of light in the courtyard — like a ward against time itself. It was working. It was shrouding your presence in an invisible dome of frequency altering waves.

You stayed there for a while that night. Long enough that your breath slowed in rhythm with his. Long enough that you forgot how wrong this all was.

“I don’t want to go back tonight,” you murmured.

Johnny looked over, his thumb brushing your knuckles. “Then don’t.”

You smiled faintly, leaning your head back against his shoulder. “You don’t understand. He’s going to find me. Eventually. I don’t know how I’ve gotten this far without being caught.”

He stilled for a second, then squeezed your hand. “You’re good at hiding.”

You didn’t dare answer.

Your pulse ticked uneasily. You didn’t want to say it aloud, but you felt it. A tension. An invisible tug on the air, like something far away was waking up.

Your eyes lifted to the dark sky — and for the first time, it didn’t feel like peace. It felt like a countdown.

⌞══════════════════════════════════════════⌝

A floor above, in the Baxter Building’s observatory, Reed Richards stood stiffly behind a console, his fingers flying over glowing panels.

The readings didn’t lie. The interdimensional signature had spiked again — stronger than before. Centered just beneath them.

“No more guesses,” Reed said sharply into the comms. “I want a location. Johnny’s there again, isn’t he?”

Ben’s voice crackled through. “Yeah. Courtyard.”

Reed’s mouth tightened. He knew.

ִ⌞══════════════════════════════════════════⌝

Back in the courtyard, you felt it a heartbeat before you saw it — like the crack of static inside your chest.

A snap — the ripple of fabric tearing.

The air split above the grass behind you, light spiraling outward in a vertical slash. A portal. Familiar. Too familiar.

You were on your feet instantly. “No—”

Out stepped Stephen Strange, cloak billowing, eyes dark with fury.

His voice was quiet, but it carried like a thunderclap.

“I told you not to touch the multiverse.”

Johnny stepped in front of you instinctively, protectively. “Who the hell are you?”

“Johnny—” you warned.

Strange didn’t answer Johnny. His gaze pinned you. “You crossed worlds. You lied. You hid from me.” His voice threatened to lose control in anger. Rising in volume as he closes to you.

Your chest burned. “You locked me in that old building alone. You kept me from even understanding what I could do—”

“For good reason,” Strange snapped, stepping forward. “Do you know how thin the line is between you and what Wanda did? Do you remember what she became?”

“I’m not Wanda!”

“But you could be.”

That silenced you. He didn’t shout. He didn’t need to.

And you hated that your heart twisted because part of you believed him.

Johnny looked between you both, confused and angry. “She didn’t hurt anyone. She was just—exploring—”

Strange shot him a look. “You think this is about hurting people? It’s about unraveling them.”

You flinched. “I didn’t ask for this.”

“I know.” His voice softened, just for a moment. “But you have it. And you’re not ready.”

“That was all you ever say to me.”

A glow gathered at his fingertips.

“Don’t,” you whispered.

“I have to.”

“Johnny—” you turned to him, panicked, reaching for his hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

He held your hand tighter. “I know.”

But the moment broke. A crack of gold light spiraled outward. Strange lifted his hand, and the cuffs snapped into place around your wrists.

You gasped as the energy flickered through you, your power dimming in an instant. The bond to the multiverse—cut. Just like that.

“Stephen!” you shouted. “Please!”

“You’re grounded,” Strange said simply. “You don’t touch this universe again.”

You twisted, eyes locked with Johnny’s, even as the world behind you spun and the air split into a recall portal.

He stepped forward. “Wait!”

But it was too late.

The last thing you saw was his hand reaching for you.

And then the world went white.

⌞══════════════════════════════════════════⌝

Back in Earth-616, the Sanctum Sanctorum felt like a cage.

The ancient walls creaked under silence. The usual hum of arcane wards now pulsed louder in your ears, like they knew what you’d done. A thousand hidden sigils glowed faintly in the corners, reacting to your presence, or maybe warning the house to keep you still.

The magical cuffs around your wrists were cold. Not just in temperature, but in what they meant. Powerless. Bound. Caught.

You’d paced the room for hours, feet scuffing against the floor, your mind spiraling. Johnny’s name still echoed in your chest like a song you weren’t ready to forget.

When the Sanctum doors finally opened, you didn’t turn. You knew the sound of Strange’s footsteps.

He didn’t say anything at first. Just stood there behind you, cloak rustling faintly with his breath.

You could feel the disappointment bleeding off him like a curse.

“I believed in you,” he said at last.

His voice was quiet. Not scolding. But it hit harder than a scream.

You didn’t turn around.

“I believed you wanted to learn. To understand your gift. I didn’t think you’d betray that trust.”

You bit your lip, jaw tight. “You mean you didn’t think I’d outgrow your leash.”

Silence.

Then a sigh. Exhausted. Hurt.

“You lied to me.”

Your voice came out hollow. “You lied first.”

That stung. You finally turned around, meeting his eyes. There was a flicker of guilt there, buried beneath the control.

He looked older tonight. Worn.

“I kept things from you,” he admitted. “Because I’ve seen what happens when people like us… chase after what we want instead of what’s safe.”

You stepped forward, slow and deliberate, your cuffed hands hang heavy in front of you, “This isn’t about safety. This is about fear.”

Strange’s jaw clenched. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I think I do,” you said, eyes locked on his. “You’re scared I’ll become another Wanda. Another fracture in your perfect little order. And you didn’t trust me enough to believe I wouldn’t.”

His silence said enough.

You swallowed back the lump in your throat. “You never believed in me, Stephen. Just in your ability to control me.”

Something flickered in his gaze, regret, maybe.

Or shame.

“This isn’t about punishment,” he said quietly.

“Then what is it?”

He didn’t answer right away. Just stared at the floor like the words were stuck in his chest.

“It’s about not watching another gifted, powerful person lose themselves to want.”

You blinked. Hard. “Is that what you think I did?”

He looked up. “Didn’t you?”

Your shoulders sagged. You felt the ache spread in your chest like frost.

“I didn’t go there to tear space apart,” you said. “I went because… I met someone who made me feel like I wasn’t dangerous. Like I was real.”

Strange said nothing.

“I wasn’t destroying the universe,” you whispered. “I was falling in love.”

You saw it. The way his expression cracked for half a second. A flash of emotion. Not anger. But something sadder.

“I miss him,” you added, voice thin. “I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”

You turned your face to the side, jaw clenched, trying not to cry.

Strange shifted his weight. When he finally spoke again, it was quiet. So quiet it barely reached you.

“Love doesn’t justify breaking the universe.”

You laughed. Bitter and empty. “Is that what this is to you? A breach protocol?”

“I saw what happened when Wanda reached across dimensions for love,” he said firmly. “She burned everything.”

You spun around. “I’m not her.”

“I know,” he said. “But you’re closer to that line than you realize.”

You held up your bound wrists. “So this is it? You’re locking me down? Is that how you love your students now?”

“I’m protecting you.”

“No,” you said, stepping toward him, voice rising. “You’re afraid of me.”

He didn’t deny it.

He just said, again, quieter this time, more final.

“You’re grounded.”

The words cut through the room like a curse. Simple. Final. Inevitable.

You stared at him, breathing hard.

“You don’t get to make that choice for me.”

“I just did.”

You turned away, chest shaking with silent sobs. You wanted to scream, but there was no point. Your power was gone. Your freedom gone. Your heart was somewhere in a different universe.

And all Strange could offer was a cell with velvet curtains.

⌞══════════════════════════════════════════⌝

He left after that.

Didn’t slam the door. Didn’t raise his voice. Just walked away like it hurt him to stay.

The Sanctum was quiet again.

Too quiet.

And you stood alone in the middle of a glowing sigil meant to keep you safe.

It felt a lot more like a prison.

⌞══════════════════════════════════════════⌝

Meanwhile, back in Earth-828, the Baxter Building was anything but calm.

Johnny stormed into the lab, fury written across his face. “You knew.”

Reed looked up slowly. “I suspected.”

“You let her get ripped out of here like she was some mistake—”

“She was a mistake,” Reed said coldly. “Her being here was a violation of everything we’ve worked to stabilize. She risked the entire equilibrium of our universe.”

“She’s not some monster.”

“She’s a threat.”

“She’s more than her power!” Johnny shouted. “And she trusted me.”

Reed didn’t blink. “Then she made two mistakes.”

Johnny’s jaw clenched.

“You should be grateful she was taken,” Reed added. “It could’ve been far worse.”

But Johnny didn’t feel grateful. He felt hollow.

⌞══════════════════════════════════════════⌝

And so time passed. Not weeks. Just days.

But it was enough.

You didn’t go back.

He didn’t reach out. Not that he could.

And neither of you said goodbye.

But maybe this is how it had to end.

A moment out of time.

A version of love that only existed between worlds.

Somewhere, the stars still shone the same in both skies.

And somewhere, the stars remembered.

a/n: Hi there! Part 2 is in the works upon an anon request! How would you like me to continue this? Because I can always make it more..... depressing or something else you guys want it to be!

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