" What?"

" The multiverse, Stephen. M-u-l-t-i--"

" What about the multiverse, Lauren?"

" It's real?"

" Yes, apparently so."

" Infinite realities?"

" Yes."

Lauren's chest rises and falls with every breath she takes. Her head tilts downwards to face Stephen while he still stands on the stairs with his red cloak resting on his shoulders.

" So that means... that Steve... is alive?" She asks with the smallest sliver of hope lacing her voice as her eyes flicker to gage his reactions.

And Stephen looks back at her, his eyes soft but his brow strong.

" Not it our universe," He answers.

" In our universe," Lauren repeats, " That doesn't mean he's dead in another universe."

She can see it in his eyes. She can see that she's right, but he won't admit it. And for the first time in a long time, she feels like she could have her happily ever after.

" Even if you could travel through the multiverse... he wouldn't be your Steve," He says, " Infinite realities, infinite Steve's, infinite you's."

Lauren only focuses on one part of his words. Infinite Steve's.

" If I could travel the multiverse..." She trails as she takes one step down so their eyes are at the same level, " How would I do it?"

" I don't know," Stephen answers honestly.

" Isn't the Sorcerer Supreme all powerful?"

" You'd have to ask Wong."

Lauren's breath remains at a calm and steady pace despite feeling her impatience growing by the second.

" He's out there somewhere," She whispers, her face neutral and void of any emotions, " My husband is alive somewhere in the multiverse... and you expect me to do nothing about it?"

Stephen pauses to think over what he wants to say, decided to pick his words carefully for he really does not wish to escalate this situation.

" It's dangerous."

" So am I."

He takes a deep breath.

" Lauren... as much as I feel for you, I really do... it can't be done," Stephen states.

" Then why don't I believe you?" She questions as the temperature in the freezing room begins to rise.

The rice surrounding the sanctum forms droplets of water that drip down the walls and down to the floor, making it even more slippery than before. The ice surrounding Stephen's feet turns into a puddle of water that soak his boots, but he doesn't dare break eye contact.

" I'm sorry," He sighs, " But what you're thinking isn't possible."

" How do you know what I'm thinking?" Lauren ponders as she tilts her head, her eyes fading from green to a golden glow, " You can't read my mind..." her eyes flicker back and forth between his right and left as she whispers, " But I can read yours."

Before Stephen can react or put up any form of defense, her powers attack his mind. She's able to seep into his brain, see what he sees and hears what he thinks. She combs through it as if it were a field of grass, or rather a maze, trying to find what she's looking for. She ignores his longing for her, and ignores his yearning for Christine, for it's irrelevant. He feels a headache from the invasion of privacy, which turns into a migraine and leads to a searing pain, as if is head is being melted with a flame. But she doesn't stop, if anything, it encourages her to keep searching. Stephen musters up some level of strength and uses it to fortify his mind. He flushes her out with a harrowing scream, but not before she finds one key piece of information. Stephen falls to his knees, the wind knocked out of him and a thin layer of sweat coating his body as he places his hands on the dripping, melting stairs.

" What the hell is the Dark Hold?"

Stephen's head slowly tilts up to meet her gaze as the hairs on the back of his neck stand up tall.

" You don't want to know... I promise you."

Lauren bends her body down so their eyes are level once more, her eyes still filled with the glow of a firefly.

" That's not your decision to make, Stephen," She whispers, her eyes staring into his, sending a shiver down his spine.

Stephen has always sensed a darkness inside her. He thought that it had faded away. He thought the wise words of the Ancient One would set her on the right path... but it seems her love for her late husband is just too strong, for we all know love is the strongest magic of all.

Her eyes linger on his, as if showing that no mater what he does, she won't back down. Not until she gets what she truly desires.

" Where can I find this Dark Hold?"

" I don't know," Stephen answers truthfully.

Lauren's eyes peer downward, shielding her glow with her eyelids, but then they flicker upwards to look at him through her lashes.

" You'll give me what I want... maybe not today... but eventually... you will help me..." She purrs, her face a mere inches away from his, close enough for him to feel her breath fanning down onto his lips, " Because I can give you something you want in return."

" And what's that?" He scoffs.

" Christine."

Her whisper gives his entire body a bone-chilling shake as she disappears with the blink of an eye. She leaves Stephen to deal with a multiversal mess that he made with Spider-Man while she returns to her apartment. As soon as her hand touches the door handle, the enchantment breaks. The golden seal wears off as she enters her apartment after years of abandonment. No surprise, everything is exactly how she left it, all except for one small detail. All of the mirrors are uncovered yet again. As if somebody tore them off, despite nobody having been inside since she left.

Lauren's eyebrows furrow as she gazes into the mirror in the hallway. Since it can't be from the outside, it must be from the inside. She takes a few steps in order to get closer to it and feel the high levels of energy radiating from it. Whispers start to crawl out of the mirror and fly around the top of her head, filling her eyes with wordless whispers.

There's something on the other side. There has to be.

The voices call to her, drawing her in like a magnet. She can't help but slowly lift her hand up, her fingers inching towards the glass. She makes contact with the mirror and gasps. It sucks her into a vision as her eyes glare gold once more. She sees flashes of her husband. Thousands of them, each of them different. All she sees is Steve. Across the multiverse, she's shown the love of her life and the endless realities he continues to exist in, all except for her own.

She leaves the vision, her eyes returning to green as her breath comes out in short pants. She retracts her hand from the mirror as faces her fingertips towards her. She feels a buzzing sensation on them, but sees nothing wrong with them. Her eyes return to the mirror, gazing at her own reflection, only this time the whispers are no where to be found. Silenced out of no where.

Lauren's quest has only just begun.

And all at the same time, Stephen momentarily forgets about their encounter to focus on the problem at hand. He finds himself at the Statue of Liberty, fighting for his life to prevent the universe from splitting a part where countless Spider-Man villains could slip through into this reality. He fixes it all by Peter Parker sacrificing those he loves most. And when Stephen Strange finishes his spell, the entire world forgets who the hell Peter Parker even is.

Even with all of the power that flows through her veins, the cosmic power of the Infinity Stones, Lauren forgets who he is as well. All she remembers is Spider-Man.

Her lavish New York city apartment now lay barren. Empty as the day she moved it. She no longer resides on the island of Manhattan, but rather travels from place to place in the Nomadic lifestyle.

Her thirst for knowledge of the multiverse continues to grow with each waking day. She collects dozens upon dozens of books and methodically combs through them in hopes to find what she's looking for. From scientific theories on the multiverse, to just plain theories. She absorbs all of the knowledge, expanding her mind.

But, it's not enough.

Her heels click against the pavement as the cold winters wind blows by and scatters a few leafs. She enters the grand library and ignores the employee who gazes at her with narrow eyes. Her eyes glow as they scan the countless books in the library with an easily 20 foot ceiling. One by one, she picks the books off the shelves. When they fill up her arms, she makes them float beside her. Stacks upon stacks, her collection only grows, and it catches the eye of the library employee.

The man walks up to her, seeing the floating books as she combs through the shelves. His eyes widen as an anger grows from within.

" You're one of them... aren't ya?"

Lauren freezes in place. Her hand resting on a book she is yet to pull off the shelf as her head turns achingly slow to meet the man.

" Them?" She asks.

" One of those creatures. Those born outside of God's image with powers from the Devil himself," The man gruffs with unearned confidence as he stands his ground, " I'm gonna have to ask you to leave... or I'll call the Sheriff and they'll put you where you belong."

Her head tilts as her mind absorbs the man's words.

" Is that so?"

Lauren turns around to face the man, her heels making her equal height. The books continue to float behind her as if gravity does not effect them. The man continues to stare her down as one hand reaches behind his back, a move she's all too familiar with. From tucked within his belt and jeans, the man pull out his silver revolver. He aims it at her face and his finger curls around the trigger. Her palm covers the barrel as he pulls the trigger. The bullet goes straight through the delicate skin of her palm, and she takes it. Without so much as blinking. The man stares at her in fear, eyes wide as if he's seen the true face of the Devil. He goes to pull the trigger once more, but this time she grips the gun and removes it from his grasp. She tosses it aside, leaving the man severely unarmed.

His thoughts are jumbled, all without interference from Lauren. He forms a fist with his right hand and hurls it towards her chest, but she grabs it with ease and twists it nearly to the brink of breaking the bone. He cries out in pain, trying to use his other hand to free him of her grasp, but it is of no avail. She's just too strong.

Her grip on his arm gets tighter and tighter, restricting the bloodflow and turning his forearm a dark purple.

" Demon!"

The man shouts, the cross on his chest rising and falling with every fearful breath he takes.

" Perhaps," Lauren utters as the glow in her eyes brightens, almost as if he's staring directly into the sun.

Their brightens shines onto the man, and he's unable to look away. They're captivating. His eyeballs burn as her eyes bore into his, into his soul. His screams echo throughout the library as her eyes melt directly through his skull. She releases his arm from her grasp, and his body falls to the floor with a thud.

And on her way out, Lauren steps over the body as if it is nothing more than a bump in the road. She exits the grand library with the floating books trailing behind her. They act as her footsteps in the air as she makes her way to her next place of temporary shelter where she can read the books and expand her knowledge yet again.

But of course, it's not enough. It can never be enough. She needs more.

She needs more knowledge.

She needs more power.

All while being the living embodiment of the Infinity Stones, she does not possess the power to travel through the multiverse.

And despite being the most powerful being in this universe... there's no telling if she is in any other universe... or if she even exists in any other universe.