Strange gives Rita a Look. "You're his changeling and I'm his wizard. We've both been physically changed by our stay under him, we're closer than anybody else in the carnival."

Like, it's obvious. This isn't Strange trying to butter them up and seem important, this is Strange pointing out the very obvious fact that if anybody in the carnival is going to have a stronger connection to Ignatius, it's these two.

But back to what Rita's talking about. He can't help but frown a little as Rita mentions the idea of something forcing Ignatius to force his will onto the group. "He's probably strapped up and experimented on even more than we are," Strange sighs. "I wonder...if something like that happens again, do you think you can communicate with him?"