Not every Doctor Strange was a force for good. Many were ruthless, cutting down foes with unmatched ferocity.
When the Ancient One chose a successor, she didn't always pick someone destined for justice, it depended on each universe's Ancient One and her leanings.
Take Dark Strange: in his universe, the pivotal time node was his car crash, where Christine died.
To defy her fated death, Dark Strange tried countless methods to alter the past, ultimately collapsing his entire universe.
When the very anchors of a universe's stability were shattered repeatedly, no one could expect it to hold. It crumbled like a building without its load-bearing walls.
That universe's Ancient One never intervened. Her "guidance" was mere lip service. After the universe's collapse, she only explained why it fell and the immutability of time nodes.
Beyond that, she did nothing, shedding her body to exist as a soul, likely drifting to another parallel universe rather than dying.
Adam mused that no matter how dire this universe's Doctor Strange turned out, however he flailed or darkened, he couldn't outstrip Dark Strange.
Dark Strange was a terror, devouring countless monsters to boost his power, teaming with other universe survivors to battle a six-gem Ultron, delivering the killing blow as the main force.
Other Doctor Stranges, like the soul-form extremist seizing heroes and villains, or the Eternity-empowered one jumping sides in major events, paled beside Dark Strange.
What caught Adam off guard was Mephisto exploiting this universe's time node to meddle with Strange's fate.
"Using a fixed time node to your advantage, intervening yet aligning with its rigid events to achieve your ends." Adam said.
Strange's crash was the time node. Mephisto conjured illusions to trigger it, killed Christine, then posed as a savior, luring Strange into a deal with a pitying facade.
Classic Mephisto, always aiming to win it all.
Adam advanced on Mephisto, unafraid of this great demon's avatar.
Mephisto felt an odd sensation, as if Adam knew him intimately, like they'd clashed countless times.
Yet Mephisto was certain he'd never met Adam. Had a parallel avatar crossed paths with him? Perhaps even made an enemy?
His avatars across universes didn't share memories, only the Hell-bound true self held all their experiences.
But Mephisto had no chance to probe Adam or engage in friendly banter.
The next second, a portal behind Adam erupted with Xenomorphs, one clutching a Xenomorph egg.
The egg hatched, releasing a Facehugger that latched onto Christine.
Injuries were no issue. As long as a spark of life remained, Xenomorphs could save someone, vegetative, crippled, it didn't matter. Mere wounds were trivial before their regenerative might.
The swarm of powerful Xenomorphs surged at Mephisto.
Mephisto bristled. "You shouldn't interfere with my prey, young one. Whatever your motives, this is a mistake."
The demon unleashed potent magic, softening the entire mountainside into a melting slurry.
Rock and dust twisted into molten lava, surging forward.
Even the weakest Xenomorphs didn't flinch, charging through the scorching tide.
Mephisto observed closely. The lava bathed the Xenomorphs but didn't kill even the frailest instantly. They retained most of their combat prowess, their movements merely stiffening.
Those birthed from decent hosts, even vampires, largely shrugged off the lava's damage, barely affected.
Mephisto was impressed. He watched Christine's wounds heal rapidly, her eyes fluttering open, sparking even greater interest.
"We don't need to be enemies. Why not trade? Xenomorphs mean nothing to you. Give me a few of their souls, and I'll grant your wish." Mephisto proposed, coveting the creatures.
He didn't desperately need their souls, but since this universe birthed such unique beings, drawing attention from locals like Dormammu and Knull, why not stockpile a batch, like harvesting human souls?
Mephisto had already noticed the Xenomorphs' consciousness was tethered to Adam, their self-awareness partially fused with his.
Killing ordinary Xenomorphs was pointless, as he'd confirmed. But capturing Adam? That would be the ultimate prize.
"I lack a proxy in this universe. Interested?" Mephisto asked, his smile disarmingly warm, though he knew Adam wouldn't bite.
Adam's face remained impassive. An Ikaris Xenomorph burst from the portal, charging to ram Mephisto, but the demon flicked his cane, redirecting it.
The Ikaris Xenomorph veered, crashing into the lava-soaked mountainside, causing a massive uproar.
It all happened too fast for Strange to process. His vaunted intellect couldn't keep up with their actions. To him, they moved as if on fast-forward.
Lacking superhuman powers, he was a mere mortal, his ability to parse information lagging.
In his sluggish perception, the world transformed in a blink, a lava-filled hell.
A squad of Xenomorphs attacked under Adam's calm command. Had Adam not saved Christine, Strange would've sworn he was already in Hell.
Strange watched as Christine's wounds vanished, her eyes fluttering open.
"Christine, you're alive! Thank God, just now…" Strange sobbed, cradling her face, his hands trembling over her cheeks.
"No need to explain. I know what happened, the Xenomorph told me. I nearly died by that demon's hand. Bad news: you're targeted by a demon. Good news: the demon's targeted by Adam." Christine said, her voice steady despite the ordeal.
"I suppose there's also not-so-good news: my brother's secret might not stay hidden much longer." Strange added, his excitement dimming, his gaze darkening.
Some things, unclear in the heat of the moment, were now clicking into place.
Under siege, Mephisto tried to speak, reluctant to spark irreconcilable conflict with a native powerhouse.
His preferred method was deception, tricking locals into serving him while singing his praises.
But he realized his ploys were useless against Adam.
Adam had no interest in parley. As the battle intensified, Mephisto, frowning, faded into a shroud of mist.
"Foster." Adam called.
A bolt of divine thunder roared, blasting Mephisto back.
The demon's elderly guise shattered, revealing his blood-red demonic form.
"Demon…" Strange muttered instinctively. Two years of Earth's chaos, gods and monsters emerging, had bolstered his mental resilience.
If gods could appear, a demon wasn't far-fetched.
Under Adam's onslaught, Mephisto faltered. This avatar wasn't among his stronger ones, and cornered by a native like Adam, no amount of silver-tongued persuasion swayed him. Mephisto sneered.
"The Ancient One borrows my power, you come to destroy me, quite the team. But offending me demands double the price." He said.
He tried reclaiming the power lent to the Ancient One, with Kamar-Taj's portal right there, but his efforts failed. Her borrowed energies blocked and suppressed his.
Mephisto's confusion deepened as an Ikaris Xenomorph tore his towering form into pieces. He wasn't dead yet.
"Mephisto, now we can talk trade: become my vessel, or I hand you to the Ancient One to drain every drop of your power. Don't think she can't, she's no slouch in dark magic. Devouring you is well within her reach." Adam said, eyeing the fragmented demon.
"You seem to have won, strange human." Mephisto replied, unfazed despite his shattered body, his intact mouth still defiant.
Losing an avatar was trivial; he could afford it.
"While you weren't looking, I conducted some interesting experiments. Don't lump me with this universe's Knull, I'm not him, nor Dormammu." Mephisto said, his eerie laugh dripping with malice. His red eyes fixed on Adam, appraising him like a rare treasure.
"And I've sent word of you back to Hell. This universe is now officially on my radar, and you're on my list."
Mephisto's schedule was packed, juggling events across countless universes, each requiring careful assessment and tailored power deployments.
For this obscure universe, action would take time.
Adam pieced Mephisto's body together. "If you're going to strike, do it now. Gather all your power, bring every artifact, cross universes at any cost to face me, even if it means losing sight of key universes. It's worth it. That's my sincerest advice."
Adam moved to parasitize Mephisto, not with a standard Xenomorph egg's Facehugger.
"I can transport troops, but hauling an egg this big? That's pushing it." Wong said, stepping through a portal, hands glowing with magic, warily eyeing Mephisto.
The great demon's infamy preceded him.
"Don't worry, you won't be needed long." Adam replied, inspecting the egg, a Hyperion Xenomorph's half-month labor. The Facehugger it birthed was robust, capable of breaking the sound barrier, lunging at Mephisto.
"Magnificent creature, stronger than most Xenomorphs. I might even know its host." Mephisto said, chuckling oddly as his body ignited, burning to ash.
"It failed. He didn't give me a chance." Adam said, visibly regretful. If he could, he'd round up Mephisto's avatars from every parallel universe, stack them like a mountain, and take them down one by one.
But Adam had a backup: the Hand's demonic master, the one who summoned Mephisto.
"You call that thing Mephisto? Like the mythical Mephistopheles? Is he dead?" Strange asked, climbing from the wrecked car, staggering to his feet. He tried helping Christine, but she pried the door open with one hand, looking dazed.
"Why so many questions? Which do we answer?" Wong snapped, glaring at Strange, unaware he was the Ancient One's chosen heir.
"Yes, Mephisto briefly appeared in our world, etched into history by time, but he's not truly dead. His 'interesting experiment' might involve you." Adam said, studying Strange thoughtfully. He suspected Strange had unwittingly struck a deal with Mephisto through some subtle conduit.
Mephisto needed a strong proxy in this world, lacking lieutenants like Ghost Rider or Diablo.
But if Mephisto was prepared, Adam wasn't caught flat-footed. He, too, was running his own intriguing experiments.
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