Work Text:
Wong was frustrated, to say the least. “What do you mean you need me to make some desserts so we can go to a family dinner?”
“We were invited by Sigyn for family dinner at the end of the week and she mentioned that she wouldn’t mind some Hong Kong Tarts, if you were inclined to bring them,” The Ancient One said as they flipped distractedly through a book on astral projection.
Wong plucked the book away from them, flipped it closed, and went to re-shelve it. He was on library duty today since it was the Librarian’s day to train the initiates. “I still don’t know how you got me to go to The Avenger Christmas party,” Wong muttered as he shelved the book in its proper place.
“I used your admiration of Sigyn’s magic to convince you,” The Ancient One said as they stood behind him, “And you must admit you had a wonderful time.”
Wong sighed. He had enjoyed conversing with Doctor Strange about music and how it influenced culture and Maggie about proper custard consistency and fruit additions but it was not a good reason for him to be invited to a family dinner. He barely knew the Starks and despite The Sorcerer Supreme being his mentor, he didn’t know them that well either. “How did you meet such a being in the first place? Isn’t she some sort of Viking goddess? And I don’t remember seeing her at the Christmas party.”
“Well, technically she’s from Vanaheim and we met when we were both too young to be defending Earth from annihilation.” They waved their hands around and the rest of the books that he was to shelve, shelved themselves, “You discussed custard with her for thirty minutes.” They smiled at him like they knew something was obvious and thought it was funny he didn’t get it.
“Oh.” Wong realized that Maggie had been extremely friendly with the god Loki as if they were more than acquaintances. “Oh.”
“Yes, she and the other Asgardians often use glamour to blend in. It is no different than some of the spells we use to hide Kamar-Taj and the Sanctums, just at a personal level.”
Wong shook his head and frowned at his mentor, “but why am I invited?”
“Because she requested your presence,” The Ancient One said firmly. “Be ready to leave tomorrow for the New York Sanctum, we will stay there before going to dinner on Friday. Since we will be there for a full day, I need you to catalog the artifacts in the New York sanctum.”
Wong sighed, “What happened? Did the Cloak of Levitation escape again?” It was a normal occurrence, perhaps once or twice a month and it was getting a little irritating. It all started about two years ago when Thor had come crashing to Earth, destroying a small town in New Mexico.
“Yes,” The Ancient One smiled in amusement, “they attempted to leave and when they found their way blocked, they caused a small fire as a distraction so they could destroy a few of the Sanctum’s records. We have copies of everything in the artifact inventory but the few torn pages containing The Cloak of Levitation. It’s a bit suspicious that it’s also missing from our records here at Kamar-Taj…” His mentor sighed and shook their head. He had an idea that The Ancient One knew why The Cloak kept escaping and causing chaos but Wong felt that it wasn’t his problem, so he wouldn’t worry about it until it was. “We need to do a full inventory for our records in order to decipher what was on those missing pages.”
“Very well,” Wong sighed.
“Good! I’m looking forward to it! She promised to make honey salmon, which I haven’t had in quite some time,” they appeared to be deep in thought, “It’s probably been about three hundred years…”
Wong just stared at them in shock, carefully keeping his usual stoic persona. The Sorcerer Supreme appeared strangely excited, which was not usual. Intense, focused, driven, sometimes happy about a new tea. Not excited. So Wong nodded at his leader and carefully backed away towards a desk where he could do some studying while he did his duty to the library.
They smiled at him, made a portal, and walked through it.
“No portals in the library!” Wong shouted at them, his unease making him raise his voice to inappropriate library levels, several of the others shushed him. Sighing at his own behavior, he settled in his favorite chair and attempted to study.
The next day Wong found himself in the New York Sanctum holding a rucksack with a change of clothes and some personal items waiting for the current leader of the Masters of the Mystic Arts.
“I’m sorry, Wong,” Daniel Drumm, the protector of the New York Sanctum appeared very apologetic as he greeted his friend. “The Ancient One came early and informed me that they had to investigate something in the city and for you to get settled and to start on the inventory.”
“Very well,” Wong sighed in irritation. Inventory without assistance would take at least two days since the New York Sanctum housed the most artifacts of the Masters of Mystic Arts. “I will have need of your kitchen, Daniel, I must bake a dessert for Friday night,” Wong said offhandedly while inside he was a bit exasperated. He would have to find some time to run to the shops for ingredients and spend a few hours on the tarts on top of his duty to the Masters. Sighing, he motioned Daniel to lead the way to the bedrooms so he could get settled in.
“Allow me to assist you with the inventory,” Daniel proposed, “I must take the blame this time for The Cloak’s escape, the spell I used to contain it was not strong enough and they broke through. Perhaps you in your studies have come across something that would better contain such an independent, sentient artifact?”
Wong contemplated his vast knowledge of the library at Kamar-Taj and the spells for containment. “There may be something, but I would have to do a bit of research first,” He flipped through his mental catalog of books. “After I return I will find something for you.” Wong may not be the head of the library, but he took pride in his knowledge of the massive collection of books and scrolls, prompting many of the Masters and students to ask for assistance when the Librarian was unavailable.
Daniel gave him a shallow bow in thanks and they continued up the stairs. He showed Wong a bedroom on the second floor that would have been a comfortable modest-sized room without all the extra furniture and clutter. It held a double-sized bed with two large side tables on each side, a small settee in the ugliest brocade, three dressers, a wardrobe, and several other knickknacks and various, mostly harmless relics. “I apologize for the clutter. The Master before me tended to just fill rooms with relics with no thought to guests. I’ve managed to clear spaces, but I lack the ability and authority to dispose of the excess.” Wong continued to inspect the room and noticed a small bookcase wedged behind the puce flowered settee.
“It will do,” Wong stated as he set his rucksack down on the bed and they headed back to the stairs to climb to the fourth floor and the relic room. Pausing at the top, Wong inspected the grand window that looked through to New York City. The fading light of the sun twinkled off the bevel at the edges of the grand window that was actually one of three Seals of the Vishanti that protected Earth from interdimensional threats. Wong surveyed the room, the whole fourth floor was filled to the brim with dangerous, quirky, and alien magical objects. Cases were lined up and gridded similar to a museum with several relics hung on the walls. Cabinets and drawers along the walls and the rooms beyond the landing were filled with magic artifacts and books detailing the Mystic Arts, multiverses, and The Nine Realms. Passing the cases, Wong and Daniel headed to the far rooms where some of the records were held. “Was anything affected by the fire?” Wong asked as Daniel pulled several large accounting books from the shelf and placed them on the surface of a massive oak desk carved with protection symbols and fauna.
“The only thing that was destroyed was a pile of National Geographic magazines from 1987,” Daniel said as he flipped through a red leather book, “If you look here, the pages were intentionally ripped out starting with The Cloak of Levitation.”
“Why would the Cloak do that?” Wong pulled the book towards himself and inspected the spot where the missing pages were. “We’ve dealt with sentient magical artifacts before, but I’ve never heard of one this… umm... sentient.”
“I’ve done the research and searched the archives of Kamar-Taj and all the Sanctums but there was nothing on The Cloak behaving this way, so defiant and destructive,” Daniel stated as he sat heavily on the leather wing chair behind the desk. “There was no record of how we even acquired it, just speculation.” Daniel sighed, “A Master from the 16th century mentioned that The Cape is older than humanity and perhaps of Asgardian origin, but I found no proof of those facts.”
Wong hummed in acknowledgment and studied the way the pages had been torn. It was not precise and a bit of the torn-out pages remained in the book. “Why would he decide to suddenly erase himself from the records and make a run for it? Does he know something or did he chose a Master and is attempting to go to them?”
Daniel appeared to be thinking about Wong’s suggestion and was fiddling with the tassels of his belt, “Perhaps…”
“Perhaps, what?” Wong asked, ready to start his assigned work so he could go to the shops that much sooner.
“Perhaps you should ask the Cloak to go with you to the dinner Friday night, give it a little walkabout.”
“Soooooo…” Wong dragged that out, “your best suggestion for a fickle Cloak of Levitation is to take it for a walk?” Wong deadpanned, finding this whole situation ridiculous and extremely amusing.
“Why not? With you and The Ancient One with it, it’s not like it could get away,” Daniel smiled fully at Wong, his amusement obvious.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“No.” Wong rolled his eyes and searched his pockets for his MP3 player. If he was going to have to inventory the largest collection of Mystic Artifacts he was going to need his Beyoncé. Several hours later, after inhaling several pounds of dust and recording hundreds of artifacts, Wong and Daniel called it a night. They both cleaned up and met in the small sanctum kitchen for a small meal before going to bed.
The next day was just more dust and more cataloging before Wong went to the closest grocery for his tart ingredients and some food for the Sanctum. Gathering up the four bags of groceries, Wong felt something re-settle on his shoulders and the weight of two of the bags lifted from his arms. Looking to his left he noticed that his tunic was a lighter red than it usually was. “Huh, so you can change appearance? Interesting,” Wong muttered as he adjusted the other two bags and carefully made his way out of the grocery. Heading down the street towards the Sanctum, Wong paused at an empty bench and set the bags down. “I’ll make you a deal, Cloak,” Wong looked down at his sleeves and the Cloak appeared to look around before he shifted and revealed himself. Lying on top of the groceries, he lifted just enough to motion for Wong to continue. “Since we don’t know where you are trying to go, I will take you with us to dinner tomorrow with The Starks and then you have to go back to the Sanctum. If you are good, I will take you out with me once a month on a little outing.” Wong was almost certain that The Ancient One would agree to this, they were sick of The Cloak’s shenanigans as much as Daniel was. The Cloak appeared to think this through before motioning for more. “I won’t do more than once a month until you can prove to me that you can behave yourself.” The Cloak slumped on the groceries in sadness and then made pleading hands. “No, I won’t budge on this and stop squishing my groceries! There are eggs in there!” A couple walked by, holding hands and they both gave him a weird look as they gave him a wide berth. “Ugh. We will finish this back at the Sanctum. Either get in one of the bags or on my shoulders.” The Cloak looked around before floating up and rested on Wong’s shoulders, wrapping himself around the sorcerer in a fabric hug. “Yeah, well don’t thank me yet. You might not even like it and decide to stay in the Sanctum of your own free will.” The Cloak shook as if he was laughing before settling down, wrapping around Wong’s arms, and lifted the bags, freeing Wong from the effort. “Thank you,” Wong knew that The Cloak assisting him was an honor despite him not choosing him. He would have been able to feel the metaphysical bond form if The Cloak had chosen him as his master.
Entering the Sanctum, Wong set the bags down and The Cloak quickly flew off and headed deeper into the building. “We leave at four tomorrow to make it to Midtown for dinner! We’re walking, no portals!” Wong called after The Cloak and it fluttered at him as if it was waving absently. “So dramatic,” Wong muttered as he picked up his groceries and headed towards the kitchen to bake some tarts.
The next morning, Wong was woken early by someone tugging on his bedding and pillow, “Stop it. It’s not my turn for the initiates,” he muttered sleepily. Another tug and the pillow went flying soon followed by a crash and breaking glass. Sitting straight up, Wong manifested Tao Mandalas and searched the room for danger. Noticing the knickknacks and relics on one of the three dressers scattered on the floor and The Cloak of Levitation hanging sheepishly in the air, he willed them away. “You could have just tapped on my shoulder until I woke up,” Wong sighed as he rubbed his dry eyes. After yesterday’s curating of Mystic Dust Collectors and the early hour he had stayed up till baking, he was extremely exhausted. “You could at least bring some tea or coffee to wake me up with,” Wong suggested as he rolled out of bed and wandered towards the bathroom. After finishing his morning routine, he returned to his room to find the mess cleaned up, his bed made, and a cup of tea on top of the now-empty dresser. “Huh.” He dressed and sipped his expertly brewed tea and then wandered down to the kitchen for breakfast. He was greeted by The Ancient One cooking eggs on the gas range and Daniel flipping through one of the Sanctum’s ledger books at the small table.
“The missing pages were put back,” Daniel said in surprise, “It appears like they were never gone in the first place. I guess Wong and I spent the last few days wasting time.”
Wong re-filled his teacup with tea from the pot and then settled down next to Daniel, pulling the book towards him. Flipping the pages, Wong ran his fingertips over the area where the pages had been missing yesterday. Feeling no seaming or glue, he shook his head and pushed it back over to his friend. “Huh,” Wong stated as he sipped his second cup of tea and The Ancient One sat down with their food and started to eat.
“Why would The Cloak go through so much trouble and then decide to fix it?” Daniel asked as he closed the book, got up, and started making himself some toast.
“Maybe because I made a deal with him,” Wong simply stated as he continued to sip his tea and The Ancient One smirked and didn’t say anything.
“What do you mean you made a deal with him?” Daniel asked as his toast popped up early, he swore, pushed it down again and the toaster started to pop up again. “Why do all the toasters end up only working for three months before breaking?” He asked rhetorically with great sadness before heating up the egg pan, shredding the bread, and mixing in eggs and spices.
“It’s all the energy manipulation,” The Ancient One said, “I had to replace the router at Kamar-Taj every few months or so before I figured out a shielding spell.” They finished off their eggs and started sipping their tea while eyeing Wong in curiosity.
Wong sighed and said reluctantly, “I told The Cloak I would bring them to dinner tonight.”
The Ancient One chuckled into their tea and didn’t say anything. Daniel on the other hand cheered as he fried his breakfast, “I knew The Cloak would love an outing every once in a while!”
“It is a compromise to prevent destructive tendencies,” Wong stated with as much seriousness as he could manage. “It is a small price to pay for not having to inhale 600 years of dust and count mystic relics for the third time.”
The Ancient One laughed, “Well I’m off to take a nap before dinner tonight,” they said as they stood, revealing mud flecked robes. Not fazed by their leader’s appearance, Wong and Daniel bid them goodnight and continued to linger over breakfast since they no longer had anything pressing for the day.
After breakfast, Daniel went to spend some time at Kamar-Taj while Wong stayed, guarded the Sanctum, and spent time perusing the library on the third floor. He settled into a leather wing chair near the window facing the street and read about a mythical stone wielder called The Mother. Wong was aware that Kamar-Taj housed the Time Stone, but to imagine a being as strong as to wield all the Infinity Stones, baffled his mind. Just as he was reading about how The Mother defeated Odin in his quest to conquer the Nine Realms, The Cloak tapped him on his shoulder. He motioned towards the grandfather clock in the corner and then motioned towards the window. Wong read the time and jumped up, it was almost five. “Shit,” Wong scrambled out of the chair and dashed towards the stairs and to his room. Changing to his best robes, he grabbed his sling ring and made a portal directly into the kitchen.
“Running late?” Daniel laughed at Wong as he gathered the box of tarts from the refrigerator.
“Yes. Where is our fearless leader?” Wong asked as he searched the kitchen and made his way towards the entryway of the Sanctum.
“They left an hour ago, told me to tell you that you can make your way whenever you’re ready,” Daniel smiled in amusement as he sat on the stairs and watched Wong panic.
“Cloak! I’m leaving with or without you!” Wong shouted just as he was hit from behind and The Cloak wrapped around him. “Well, if you’re ready…” Wong held the box out and The Cloak held it while Wong created a portal into the room the Christmas party had been. It may be rude but it would be even ruder to be late. Ignoring the laughter from his friend, he stepped through the portal and closed it.
“What the-!” Tony Stark exclaimed as he jumped back from Wong’s sudden appearance. The Cloak waved to him and then handed Wong the box of tarts.
“Please excuse my sudden appearance, Mr. Stark,” Wong said as he handed Tony the tarts, “I was invited for dinner…”
“Oh, Wong! Cerridwen said you were running late,” Maggie exclaimed excitedly as she came over and took the tarts from Tony’s hands.
Tony stared at Wong in shock,” Mags? Did the wizard just make a portal from one place to another?”
“Yes, Tony. If you want, we can ask Wong to make you a portal to inspect and do readings on after dinner,” Maggie said as she smiled at Wong. “Thank you so much for coming, Wong. If you want to step over here, Steve or Nat will make you a drink.”
Wong followed Maggie over to the bar on the far side of the room where everyone was gathered, Captain America was behind the bar with The Black Widow making drinks. Maggie sat him next to Doctor Strange and then wandered off with the box of tarts.
“So you got roped into coming to dinner too?” Strange asked as he sipped a cocktail with a little umbrella in it.
“Yeah,” Wong said as he settled on the seat and Natasha came over and placed a napkin on the bar in front of him.
“What can I get you Mr. Wizard?” she smiled, she was dressed elegantly in a simple sleeveless black cocktail dress with a cherry red belt around her waist that matched her nails and lipstick.
“Something fruity and sweet, please,” Wong eyed the umbrella in Strange’s drink.
“I got just the thing,” Widow said as she headed towards some juices on ice and started to measure and shake.
Wong and Strange discussed music again and Strange asked about The Ancient One. “How old are they, really? Maggie won’t tell me, just that they’ve known each other forever and met back when they were, I quote: kids playing at magic and saving Earth from dark mystical enemies.”
“Until tonight, I didn’t even know The Ancient One’s name,” Wong said just before Natasha set his drink down in front of him, “Thank you, ma’am.”
“Hey, call me Nat. It’s family dinner night, no formalities,” She winked at him and then wandered off towards two boys, one blond and the other dark-haired.
“Who are the children?” Wong asked as he sipped his fruity drink with an umbrella. The Cloak reached out and snatched the umbrella and quickly flew away.
“Whoa!” The two boys exclaimed as they watched The Cloak circle the room, playing with the umbrella. Wong just rolled his eyes and sipped his drink. The boys started to follow The Cloak and tried to get him to come down to their level. The two looked at each other, dashed off, and then came back with some more umbrellas.
“The dark-haired boy is Peter, Stark’s son, and the blond is Harley. I’m not sure of the relationship, this is the first time I’ve seen him,” Strange said as he eyed The Cloak. “Did your cloak just fly off by itself?”
“Yes. He does that,” Wong deflected and continued to enjoy his drink and the show. The boys had gotten The Cloak to come down to their level and they took turns handing and taking cocktail umbrellas from him. They laughed as The Cloak pretended to be Mary Poppins and then mimed riding a unicycle.
“He’s very talented. Do you have many pieces of clothing that are enchanted?” Strange asked with a small smile on his face, he was amused by the boys and The Cloak.
“He’s one a kind,” The Ancient One said as they came over to their end of the bar. “I see that you made it in time, Wong.”
“If someone had told me that they were leaving, I could have managed to arrive with them instead of scaring our host with my portal,” Wong muttered into his drink.
Strange reached out his hand and introduced himself, “I’m not sure that we met. I’m-. “
“Doctor Stephen Strange,” The Ancient One finished for him as they shook his hand. “We did not meet, but Sigyn has spoken of you and Stark’s advances in medical technology.”
Strange appeared surprised as he shook The Ancient One’s hand.
“Mr. Wong! Mr. Wong,” The boys exclaimed as they ran over to him, “Can we play with your cloak upstairs? We want to show him some stuff!”
Wong looked over at the Ancient One with his eyebrow raised in question. They nodded their agreement and made subtle motions of miming a containment spell. They must have put the spell on the Tower before he and The Cloak arrived.
“If it’s ok with him,” Wong replied. “He has his own mind and is not accountable to me.”
“Really?” Peter asked.
“Is he a person trapped in a cloak body?” Harley asked as they eyed The Cloak that had come up behind them and settled on both their shoulders.
The Ancient One laughed at that, “No, he’s just a sentient relic. He’s been very naughty lately and Wong decided to take him out of the Sanctum to stretch his…,” They quirked their lips, “legs.”
Strange reached out to touch the edges of The Cloak and he reached back. Suddenly he flew off the boys’ shoulders, circled around the tall man, and then settled on his shoulders. A ripple of magic radiated from the pair before it hugged Strange, pulled off, wrapped the boys in his folds, and flew off with them.
“Interesting,” The Ancient One said as they eyed the flying boys. Stark and Maggie had noticed and were chasing after the trio shouting for The Cloak to put the boys down. Loki, Thor, and Bruce were standing together laughing before Maggie went over and dragged the two Asgardians by the ear to help her.
Wong thought it interesting too that The Cloak had chosen a non-magic user as his Master but The Ancient One didn’t seem too surprised. “Doctor Strange, have you ever considered studying The Mystic Arts?” They asked as they led Strange away. Wong rolled his eyes and went to go assist the Asgardians with retrieving the boys from The Cloak.
After twenty minutes, a bribe of fabric softener, and a full-sized silk parasol, The Cloak deposited the boys onto the couch. Maggie sighed in relief and went off with Steve and Thor to put out food, “Boys! Set the table!” She shouted over her shoulder as she manifested a black apron to put over her bottle green cocktail dress. Her black heels clicked as she strode towards the kitchen and the delicious smell of food. The boys scrambled, their button shirts and jeans wrinkled from their time with the cloak, as they started to pull silverware from the sideboard and plates from the shelves. Wong went over to help, followed by The Cloak and Loki. Loki took the plates from the boys and The Cloak started to place fabric napkins at each of the places as Wong carried over the pitchers of water from the bar area. Heavy platters were carried out magically and manually and settled on the table and everyone chose a seat.
“So tell us about The Cloak, Wong,” Maggie said as she passed him a basket of rolls.
“I don’t know much,” Wong said as he placed a roll on his plate and passed it to Captain America on his left.
“He’s so cool!” Harley exclaimed, his mouth full of a dinner roll.
“Can he stay here?” Peter asked, his mouth also full of food.
“Boys! Maggie yelled at them, “Chew, swallow, and then you can speak.”
“Sorry,” they both said at once.
“I don’t think The Cloak will be able to stay since he belongs with Wong and Cerridwen at the Sanctum,” Maggie said as she eyed the sentient fabric that was now lying on Strange’s shoulders.
“Well, he’s chosen Strange as his Master,” The Ancient One said as they speared some of the honey salmon, “I’m not sure if he’ll come back home with us.”
“Strange learning magic would be hilarious,” Tony said and Pepper elbowed him, “it would!” Tony rubbed his side and eyed his friend. “You could then come back and teach me how the portals work so I can prevent my kid from running off to another realm.”
“Midgardian magic is different than ours,” Loki said as he threw a roll at Tony, who missed the catch and it hit his forehead.
“The Bifrost is impossible to disrupt,” Thor interjected, his mouth full of food, “It’s never been done.”
“Thor, what did I just tell the boys?” Maggie scolded and the boys laughed.
“Do I get a say in this?” Strange asked as he tried to shrug The Cloak off his shoulders.
“No,” Wong said as he speared his broccoli and examined it, “The Cloak chose you, so you’re stuck with him until he rejects you or you die.”
“That sounds pretty final,” Bruce said as he adjusted his glasses and poked at his fish.
“Loyal clothing, I could get behind that,” Natasha said as she sipped her wine and eyed Strange and his struggles. Captain America was focusing on eating and observing the conversation. He was quiet at Christmas too, maybe he was shy, Wong thought as he observed the family dynamic of The Avengers and their assorted family. Hawkeye was missing along with Stark’s friends, Happy and Rhodey but three spots were still set as if they were just waiting for them to appear.
“I can’t perform surgery with a cloak, even if he is sentient,” Strange complained as he gave up and just continued to eat.
“We’ll watch him for you while you do that,” Harley suggested as he eyed his vegetables with disdain.
“I don’t think so,” Loki said as he eyed the boys, “I don’t wish to explain to Sigyn how you two were hurt while performing dangerous feats of stupidity.”
“Anyways....,” Maggie interrupted as she eyed the two scheming boys, “I don’t think you two will have the time, between school, lessons, and lab time.” They slumped in their seats and then Harley pulled a small umbrella from under the table and held it up for The Cloak to see. It waved at them and then flew over and landed on the boys’ shoulders.
“How does that work?” Steve asked as he gestured with his fork at The Cloak.
“We don’t know,” The Ancient One answered as they took seconds of the fish. “We have no records on how we acquired him or any information on his origins, just speculation. He is unique. There is no other artifact known with this level of sentience and independence.”
Loki's head shot up and swiveled to eye The Cloak. He reached out and fingered the edges and The Cloak slapped his hand. “Interesting…” he muttered as he rubbed his hand, “Mother would love to meet him. I bet she would know something.”
“Then take him with you when you leave next week,” Strange suggested as he eyed The Cloak across the table.
Thor held his Asgardian fork out and pointed it at Loki, “We are not taking him to battle with us.”
“I never said we were taking it with us,” Loki glared back and pointed his own fork.
“We are not taking The Cloak with us to Vanaheim. We will inform Frigga about him and let her see him when she decides to visit us on Midgard,” Maggie said as she pulled Loki’s arm down.
“I don’t think I could cook for a Goddess,” Steve said as he appeared to ponder the idea.
“You cook for me,” Maggie teased The Captain.
“You cook for Pepper,” Tony said as he smirked at Ms. Potts.
“And for me,” Nat said saucily over her wine glass.
“And me,” Bruce deadpanned. The table erupted in laughter and the subject changed.
The meal went well and his tarts were a hit, especially with the two boys. The meal finished and everyone helped to clean up and tidy the room.
“Where are the boys?” Bruce asked as he searched the large room. “They were just here with The Cloak and now they’re gone.”
“FRIDAY? JARVIS? Where are the boys?” Tony asked as he looked behind the bar.
“They’re in Peter’s room playing video games with Cloaky,” FRIDAY answered.
“Cloaky?” Loki snickered, “I take it Peter or Harley named it?”
Strange looked at his watch and then eyed the elevator, “Well, I need to be off. Early morning surgery tomorrow.”
The Ancient One smirked in amusement as they sipped their tea over by Maggie, Pepper, Bruce, and Nat. Maggie got up and gave him a hug, “Thank you so much for coming, I’m glad you were able to find some time. We’ll see you in a few months.” She stepped back and Tony shook his hand before he strode for the elevator and pressed the button urgently.
Wong decided that he was ready to go too and turned towards his hosts, “Thank you for inviting me to your family dinner. Safe travels to your home realm, Sigyn.” Wong gave her a shallow bow.
Maggie returned it with a smile. “Took you long enough,” she teased, “Cerridwen told me you didn’t realize who I was. It was a pleasure having you and I must get that recipe from you. Every recipe I found on the internet wasn’t even close to yours. We must find a day when we are both free and can collaborate.”
The elevator finally arrived and Strange dashed in and hit the button to close the doors multiple times in a panic. Thor, Loki, and Steve were leaning on the bar eating the rest of the sweets from dinner, laughed at him. “I’m sure Cloaky will find you whether or not you make a run for it,” Loki called out.
“Not if I escape the Tower before he finds me,” Strange called back as the doors slid closed.
The Ancient One rolled their eyes and continued their conversation over the post-dinner tea in the corner. Maggie went over and sat down with them and Tony tapped Wong on his shoulder. “Why don’t I take you up to the boys’ room so you can get The Cloak? I’m not sure how all this magic thing works, but The Cloak can’t stay here.” Wong nodded and they got in the second elevator and went up. The door slid open to reveal an open plan kitchen and living room with top-of-the-line modern appliances and electronics. The room overlooked the glittering city and the skyscrapers that surrounded The Tower. Soft lighting filled the room and showcased the modern sectional couch centered on an oversized oriental rug in reds and oranges that were scattered with Legos and school books. “Peter! Harley! Come clean this up before the Roomba does!” Tony yelled and a crash was heard from the hallway past the kitchen.
The two boys dashed out, quickly followed by The Cloak. “Sorry, Dad.” “Sorry, Tony,” was said by the boys as they scrambled to collect the mess of Legos. The Cloak brought over a large Rubbermaid container and helped them scoop Legos into the bin. When they were done they looked up at Tony and started asking if Cloaky could stay the night. The Cloak held his edges up in a begging motion.
“Nope. Harley goes home tomorrow morning for a three-day weekend and me and you are spending time with Mags before she leaves next week,” Tony said, his arms crossed. “Say goodbye to Cloaky and Wong so they can go home.”
The Cloak swiveled and appeared to stare at Wong and then back at the boys. He went over, hugged the two boys in his fabric, and then went to settle on Wong’s shoulders. “Bye Mr. Wong,” the two boys said simultaneously. It was funny how they had somehow managed to sync up.
“Please, just call me Wong,” Wong said with a little quirk to his lips, these two boys were adorable troublemakers.
“Bye Wong,” They said. Wong nodded before he made a portal and went to step through. Before he could, The Cloak flew off, scooped up the boys, and went through the portal.
“What the hell! Get back here!” Tony yelled as he jumped into the portal after them.
Wong sighed and stepped in after them. He could hear Tony run up the stairs and the boys' laughter from the upper floors. Daniel came out from the side parlor and stood next to him. “How was dinner?” He asked, laughter in his eyes and a smirk on his lips.
“It was delightful. The Cloak found a master, two playmates, and a new name,” Wong grumbled sarcastically.
“I see you brought some friends back with you,” Daniel said as he looked up the stairs at the noise of New York’s resident Billionaire Iron Man chasing after a sentient cloak that was flying around with his children.
“Cloaky brought back friends. I just brought myself back,” Wong said as he sat heavily on one of the benches along the wall.
Daniel laughed and sat next to his friend, “Do you think we should help?”
“No,” Wong stated and flinched at a crash of one of the glass cabinets being tipped over.
Let’s just say, Cloaky would often be found over at the Tower with Peter and Harley or making Doctor Strange look fantastically magical at the most inopportune moments, such as benefit dinners and at the grocery store.
Tony added Cloak proofing to his list of Magical Things to Stop list.
Cloaky and Wong will return…