Chapter Text
Standing in front of Thanos's assembled army, some part of Stephen Strange couldn't entirely believe that his life had come to this. Just a few years ago he had been a skilled but relatively conventional surgeon, working within the known rules of science to help save lives, and now he was part of an order of sorcerers preparing to mount a final stand against an alien army intent on remaking the universe in the image of a genocidal psychopath.
Granted, the fact that aliens were real had been known to Earth since the Battle of New York when the Avengers first came together, but facing aliens with magic still felt a bit of a contradiction…
Still, he'd deal with that particular contradiction when he had the time to consider the philosophical issues;
"Is that everyone?" he said as he took up position alongside Wong and the other sorcerers.
"What; you wanted more?" Wong said, in his usual tone of mild exasperation.
Strange just had time to place the source of that particular moment of déjà vu when another portal opened up just behind him, this one mixing blue and green energy along with the familiar gold of the sling rings. As Strange and others looked at the new portal, the former neurosurgeon allowed himself a smile as he recognised some of the people emerging from that particular portal.
Nick Burkhardt, Emma Swan, Dave Stutler, Bo, Angel, the green-clad Tommy Oliver and the transformed Billy Batson were each distinctive enough that it wasn't hard to recognise them even after one meeting at least a year ago. Paige Matthews and Kenzi now had black and blonde hair respectively compared to their previous styles, and Willow Rosenberg's clothing style seemed more confident even if she hadn't aged that much. Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley were now at least in their late twenties, and while there was a girl in Mildred Hubble's school uniform who Strange just knew was the youngest Guardian this girl looked very different from the girl he'd seen last time. Most notably, Merlin was now an old man with thick white hair and a beard, and was wearing a dark jacket in a more contemporary style as opposed to his older clothing.
However, even beyond the return of the Guardians, what Strange was particularly pleased to see was they were all accompanied by other allies. From what Strange recalled from seeing the Guardians' friends and their futures when he first cast the spell to bring the team together, he could recognise faces such as Nick's allies Hank Griffin, Monroe, Adeline Schade and Juliette Silverton (although judging by the hairstyle she was going by the name 'Eve' right now), Paige's sisters Piper and Phoebe Haliwell, and Dave's teacher Balthazar Blake. Billy was followed by five people in similar lightning-themed costumes to his own, while Tommy was wearing the familiar green and had thirteen other Power Rangers following him in three different styles of costume. Emma was accompanied by five people, two of whom were likely Emma's parents, Mildred was followed by a slightly chubby girl in glasses and a more slender dark-skinned girl, and Harry and Ginny had a red-haired young man and a bushy-haired young woman he guessed were Harry's friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Bo and Kenzi were accompanied by a slender man with a trimmed beard that Strange was fairly sure was her ally Dyson, Willow was followed by a well-dressed blonde and a brunette, and Angel had a pale-haired other vampire and a woman in red leather with blue-tinged skin.
How about that, Thanos? Strange mused, looking at where the purple alien was staring in shock at the gathered new arrivals. As Wanda Maximoff noted exactly who had just joined their side, she smiled and moved from her initial position in front of the forces of Asgard to stand with the other Guardians of Magic, her hands glowing red and a resolute expression on her face as she assessed their enemy on the other side of the field. As Giant-Man burst from the nearby rubble and released the now-intelligent Hulk, War Machine and that alien racoon to join the fray, the other Avengers appeared surprised at the new arrivals, but the fact that Wanda clearly recognised them seemed to be enough for the gathered Avengers. Captain America just gave a final nod to Wanda as the Hulk and War Machine took up their position in the battle-lines, before the man with the shield turned his attention back to their gathered enemies.
"AVENGERS!" Captain America declared, summoning Mjolnir to his hand (Strange wasn't sure how that part had happened when he was fairly sure the hammer had been destroyed, but he wasn't complaining) as he glared at the army before them. "Assemble."
With that declaration, the heroes charged towards Thanos's army, all ready to take out their rage on the beings who had done so much damage with his warped vendetta. Strange would look into determining exactly how the Guardians of Magic had joined this particular confrontation later, but right now, they had to focus on Thanos's minions.
And make sure he doesn't get his hands on our Gauntlet…