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“Isn’t it a bit on the nose to go out on Halloween as ourselves?” Peter asked.
“Listen- no one is going to expect the three of us walking around together on the streets of Queens during Trick or Treating. As long as you don't stick to things, the Cloak pretends to be a boring non-magical piece of outerwear, and I add a bit of makeup and shave my beard slightly differently then we are easily just people in costumes.” Tony said with a smirk, nodding at the family passing by them and complimenting the group on their Avengers costumes.
“I’m not even part of the Avengers…” Stephen grumbled and Tony just laughed and kissed him on the cheek.
“I know, sweetheart! I love you for that, you’re just a badass and sexy magical consultant.”
Peter flinched in disgust as he turned to his parents.
“Really? You’re ruining this perfectly good outing to flirt in front of your only child?”
“If anything, that makes the outing better.” Stephen said with a small smile while Tony let out a whoop of joy before placing an arm around his husband. The inventor was still delighted that his child and his spouse got along. After Peter’s mother had died, Tony wasn’t sure his kid would accept anyone else but then Stephen Strange came along and swept the Stark’s off their feet.
“Can we at least focus on the mission, please?” Peter begged. The adults looked at each other in amusement.
“Fine, fine. We’re a block away anyway from where the reports said the disturbance occurred. Something about a weird glowing light floating around and loud noises.” Tony said and lo and behold, a large abandoned warehouse was waiting for them. “Why does it always have to be somewhere creepy?”
“Usually the mundane places don’t have the opportunity to get to our level of weirdness.” Stephen replied as he flicked open the doors with magic. They cautiously crept into the warehouse, Tony’s nanotech creeping onto his wrists to create gauntlets while Stephen closed the doors behind them.
“My Spidey-Sense isn’t going off at all.” Peter whispered before suddenly freezing in place. Stephen and Tony turned to look at him but the teen had closed his eyes and was listening for something. “I think I hear…someone crying. She sounds either my age or younger. There’s also something else here but it’s muddled…”
The two men looked at each other for a moment before nodding and turning back to Peter.
“Alright kid, you’re on radar duty. This has turned into a rescue mission, priority is getting the civilian out of here assuming that’s who’s in distress. Stephen, you’re on point.” Tony said and Peter and Stephen nodded. After clearing the large but mainly empty first room, Stephen created a shield and after Tony and Peter positioned themselves accordingly, he pushed open the large metal doors.
Sitting there alone in the middle of the room was a girl huddled into herself as she quietly cried. The only thing was, she was mainly transparent and glowed with a soft blue light.
“Ghosts are real?!” Peter exclaimed before he caught himself but it was too late. The girl inhaled sharply and her head shot up in fear before she caught sight of who exactly had barged in.
“Stephen!” She exclaimed with a cry and scrambled to her feet. The sorcerer’s shield fizzled out as he was overcome with shock as the girl launched herself at him but only flew through him to land on the floor. “You’re alive!”
“Stephen, how do you know her?” Tony asked cautiously as the girl swore in Spanish angrily.
“I’m sorry, but have we met before?” Stephen asked cautiously as he turned to her. A crestfallen look took over her face before it morphed into bitterness.
“I know you, at least, I knew a different you. Now I don’t even know if he’s alive or if Wanda killed him.”
Tony and Stephen shared a look once more.
“Wanda Maximoff?” Tony asked and the girl nodded. “What the hell happened that she was trying to kill Stephen?”
“She was trying to steal my powers to travel through the multiverse and Stephen was trying to stop her. She finally succeeded before she opened up a portal and threw me in it. Stephen was just barely able to reach out and do something but I woke up here alone and as a ghost!”
Stephen frowned as he took in the sight of this ‘ghost’.
“May I have your name?” He asked and she perked up as she started apologizing.
“Oh, I’m so sorry! I’m so used to meeting different versions of you now that I forget you don’t know me. I’m America Chavez.”
“Hey, uh, nice to meet you America but I think I may have found your body.” Peter exclaimed from across the room. He had wandered off trying to figure out what was still keeping him on edge.
“What?!” Tony exclaimed as Stephen quickly rushed into action. Indeed, America’s body was splayed across the ground haphazardly. He settled her on her back and searched for a pulse. If his hunch was correct…
“She still has a pulse. It’s incredibly weak and fluttering but she’s still able to hold her astral form together. We have to go.”
Tony snapped to attention and tapped his earpiece.
“Fri, I need the full medical team called for an emergency. Get Helen. We don’t know if the lack of her powers is what’s killing her.”
Stephen scooped up America’s body and the girl fluttered around him.
“I didn’t know I was still alive!” She cried out. “I was stuck here and kinda just stayed away from…it.”
“I understand, but we have to get you stabilized and then we’ll figure out how we're going to help.” With the help of the cloak, he pulled out his sling ring and created a portal to the Compound’s medical bay where a team was already waiting for them. He stepped through and placed the girl on the gurney and watched as she was rushed off.
Hours passed with no word. At some point, America’s astral form flickered away leaving the three men worriedly pacing in the waiting area. It took five hours before Helen Cho finally made an appearance.
“She’s stabilized. Friday mentioned that she was enhanced but had her energy stolen?” She trailed off and Tony nodded. “It seems that whatever happened drained all of her energy to critical levels. If you were even an hour later she likely wouldn’t have lived. Hell, she wouldn’t have survived without the cradle.”
“Thank you Helen.” Tony said and she nodded back in response.
“No thanks needed. I will continue to monitor her for the next 24 hours. I’ll let you know when she shows signs of waking up.” With that, Helen headed back into the fray.
The three sat down silently as they pondered the implications of America’s appearance and rather how she got here in the first place.
“Y’know, she’s going to need a place to stay.” Peter said, breaking the silence and Tony looked over at him.
“She’s essentially a refugee from a different universe. No documentation, no identity, a literal blank slate. I can whip something up as soon as we find out more about her.” Tony replied. Stephen was still lost in thought, however. “What’s wrong?”
“It seems she knows me pretty well. The way her face lit up when she saw me…”
“Looks like you’re a surprise dad, congrats!” Tony teased but the sorcerer didn’t take the bait. Instead, he turned to his husband, distraught.
“She had no idea who the two of you were. I have no idea about her and this is an absolute mess.” He groaned. Tony leaned closer to him and took his husband’s hands gently.
“Listen: we’ll figure everything out. She won’t be able to get back to where she’s originally from so we’ll help her out. I think we should give it a chance. Besides, she passed the standards of what seems to be multiple Stephen Strange’s. I do not take that recommendation lightly.”
“Yeah, you’re very hard to win over.” Peter added and Stephen couldn’t help but take a deep breath as he rolled his eyes at his son.
“Thanks.”
“We’ll figure this out. Plus, now we can potentially have a daughter to add to this crazy mess of a family. Friday needs another lady in her life and a sister would be perfect!”
“Honestly, this outcome is better than just getting candy from trick or treating. I’m potentially getting a sister if I can win her over…”
Finally, Stephen began to relax. They would figure it out, but America would have support. That was certain.