Chapter Text
Karl Mordo watched his student with the two travelers. He watched them fuss over the injured Stark and how the two travelers tried to teach the apprentice he had advocated for. He watched them teach his Apprentice Strange more flexibility than was safe and a disregard for the Natural Laws they were sworn to protect.
Karl did not like what he saw.
"Their flexibility is an asset, not a detriment," the Ancient One said one days when she joined him in watching the three men under surveillance.
"Then why did you have them confined?" Karl countered, fighting to keep his temper in check.
"Because it was one of the only ways to force them to rest," the Ancient One sighed. "They are both battered. The ritual Tony used to share our health and memories across the three of us was necessary so that they would start to heal and I could act on the necessary information they both provided. Stephen the elder is still willing to accept you as an older brother despite the fact that the you as his teacher tried to kill him. I never meant for you to be this ridgid, Karl. We all have demons we must fight and lines that occasionally must be crossed. You must always ask why the line was crossed before you assume that the person had no reason to do so. Stephen has broken a number of what we teach as Natural Laws and absolute rules. In each case it was an exception that proved the rule or at least proved good reason for the rule."
"Then why is he not being punished?!" Karl exclaimed.
"Because he has already served his punishment and accepted the consequences of his actions," the Ancient One explained. "He willingly accepted the cost each time and acted within his remit as Sorcerer Supreme or as a Doctor. Just as I have done when it was called for."
"What do you mean?" Karl asked, suspicion dawning as he turned to face his teacher and the leader of their Order.
"The rules are there to guide and protect but no rule or law made by man is ever absolute. There are often exceptions or reasons for the rules to be made," the Ancient One said solemnly. "For one clear example killing another human. If it is done in defense of the innocent or self defense it is often accepted or even applauded but to kill another in greed or jealousy is rarely accepted. This is often the dilemma that I and they as Sorcerer Supreme face when we break the rules. Other times what we face is the reason for the rule.... As it was when I established the rule against dealing with the Dark Dimension and Lord Dormammu. I maintain a connection with that dimension still but when it was originally established there was no rule against doing so. Lord Dormammu had yet to prove to be a threat at that time. Since then circumstances have changed and I established that contact and deals with the Dark Dimension were either banned or to be extremely limited. Lord Dormammu also demands a heavy price for his aid and access to power from his realm."
"You...." Karl said in open alarm as he took a step backwards away from her and reached for his artifact.
Mordo's actions did not go unnoticed as both travelers snapped around to pay him attention. They both settled into a combat stance while protecting the still green Apprentice Strange. The Ancient One ignored them as she turned to fully face her most senior surviving student. Karl Mordo went white as the mark of Dormammu and the Dark Dimension began to burn a firery red on her forehead, proving to all who saw the truth of her words.
"As a Master is granted greater leeway and freedom compared to an Initiate or an Apprentice so too is the Sorcerer Supreme no longer bound as tightly by the same rules as the Masters in the Order," the Ancient One informed him. "Each of us is judged not only by the Eye of Agamotto but by the life essence of the planet as a whole. Once you take up the title of Sorcerer Supreme in truth and are acknowledged by the heart of the world you can never set it down. One day it will be demanded of each Sorcerer Supreme to give everything or make a terrible choice or a terrible sacrifice or even all three. There is no alternative as even in death we are often still called to service. We serve in ways that will never be demanded of those who only hold the title of Master. We also pay the price for that service and many of the things required which cross lines that have been established for the rest of you as protection. Your lack of understanding something so basic to the position is part of why you must never attempt to claim the place of Sorcerer Supreme. You have already failed to grasp what is necessary to serve as such. If you persist and attempt to become my successor regardless of the other candidates you will only destroy yourself and everyone around you."
"Sometimes the call to service is greater," Stark said seriously. "As Sorcerer Supreme we also guard the Multiverse. This in turn occasionally has us fighting things that end entire universes."
"Dormammu was a threat I faced after I was hardly acknowledged as a Master. I had almost no true experience and the results of our fight were deemed a trial by fire. Unfortunately, my version of you left before you could hear what I had done and experienced to save our world simply because I employed Time magic. Before the fight even began while you were scolding me for testing my first time spell on an apple the test by the Eye of Agamotto to see if I would be a suitable guardian had begun. I was unaware of the test but as you know once the test was initiated by such a powerful artifact I would either pass or fail with potentially disastrous results," Master Strange observed. "Your views, had I adhered to them as rigidly as you wished, would have doomed our entire universe and timeline. Dormammu was only the first part of the threat after all at that time. Hindsight is, as they say, twenty-twenty after all."
"And now the Eye has forced you to merge with it just as it's sibling, the Tesseract, has done with Anthony," the Ancient One sighed in frustration as she let go of the power of the Dark Dimension and allowed the mark to fade away.
"Hey, you know perfectly well we had absolutely no plans to involve either one of them in any of this," Stark said, waving his hand to encompass the situation as a whole. "They shoved their way right in all on their own."
"Which is why I have not taken further action to chastise you both," the Ancient One huffed in irritation. "You did give me everything you could in case the healing portion of that ritual failed. Every scrap of evidence and your reasons behind the actions you took. I did say that you were both justified, did I not? No, you both know perfectly well why you are under punishment and it isn't your reckless attempt to save everyone."
"Yes, Master," the two travelers said contritely.
Karl Mordo scowled at all of them and stormed off, unwilling to start a fight he knew he would lose. Perhaps Dormammu would be interested in one or both of the travelers? Then he could properly correct Apprentice Strange and ensure that he wouldn't fall down such a dangerous path.