Author's Note:

Hey guys! I'm sorry about the quiet. Between the holidays, shopping for them, working and all the rest, I'm swamped. But I'm still here, and I love this story already.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

They were the last to arrive to practice – not surprisingly. The other kids weren't working on trivia, however. They were all sitting around (mostly on desks) and from what Peter heard as they walked into the room, they were all talking about the party that evening. None of them were dressed in their Halloween costumes, either. That didn't surprise Peter, however, because the school didn't allow the students to wear costumes. It was a science and technology school, after all, and a few years back, before the ban, there had been several unfortunate incidences with loose sleeves catching on fire or getting caught in various machines used in a multiple of experiments and classes. It was just safer to ban all costumes, the administrators had decided, and although the students grumbled, for the most part they understood.

The team looked up when the others arrived, and with the seeming 6th sense that comes with the herd mentality of teens, they all knew something had happened – and not because Ned was holding a hand against his swelling eye and still grumbling about stupid jocks thinking they ruled the hallways.

"What happened to you guys?" Abe asked.

"Nothing," Harrington answered before Ned could. "Everything is fine." He turned to MJ, making a polite gesture with his hand. "They're all yours, team captain."

The girl nodded, and took a spot in the front of the room, and all of the students turned their attention to her as they started practice. It didn't change their schedule, after all, just because it was Halloween. But it did make it harder for them to concentrate when normally they were fairly attentive, and it showed.

OOOOOO

"Well… shit."

Stephen Strange didn't often curse. A highly educated man with a vocabulary as a result, he didn't feel that he needed to use crass words when a less vulgar one would do, and he prided himself on being able to express himself in any condition with a minimal of swearing. His current situation, however, had him just a little off-kilter – and maybe a little concerned?

The dimension that he was in was a dangerous place for a human. For a sorcerer, especially, since the use of magic created a current in the natural world that someone who was sensitive to it could feel. Peter Parker was the example that came to mind, of course. But Peter was human, which is why it was so unusual for him to be able to feel it. Demons, on the other hand, were just as sensitive to the sensation – at least they were in their own dimension – and it was completely natural for them. Part of their makeup. He knew that, of course. The sorcerer supreme was adroit an avoiding the many demons in this dimension – and others – the few times that he needed to travel there. He had to use magic. There were spells needed to allow him to breathe in the harsh environment, and to allow him to maneuver from world to world.

The cloak allowed him to float, and afforded him some measure of protection – more than he'd known before – but it was magical, too, and was a beacon to the denizens of this place he was in, seeking the information that he needed and laying false trails where he could in order to keep the search for the origin of the light from getting anyone near Peter – or even their dimension. The plan seemed to be working, at first, but suddenly Strange realized that he was being stalked. At first, he assumed it was just the draw of magic calling to the minor demons who happened to be closest to him as he travelled. He didn't believe in coincidences, however, and the feeling of being stalked was getting stronger and stronger as the longer he stayed where he was.

He wasn't too worried, though. Not because he was cocky – which he knew he could be honestly accused of being – but because demons were notorious for not being able to work cooperatively with others. Usually. Every time he turned around, however, he found that there were more and more coming his direction, and they were getting close enough that they were a concern.

Like a small army of fire ants. Little and not much of a threat on their own, but put enough of them together, and they were definitely something to bear watching. The cloak flared a warning that wasn't really needed, since Strange hadn't missed the arrival of four other demons, all emerging from seemingly nowhere, and bristling with their own magical abilities and emanating hatred and evil as they advanced on the sorcerer and his magical cloak.

Strange brought his hands up, energy flaring as he debated whether he should stay and fight, clear the danger, and continue his expedition into the realm of Dormammu, or if he should just haul ass and get himself home and hope that he'd done all that he needed to do to keep the searchers from finding the earth.

"Shit…" he muttered, again, as a dozen more demons popped into the area.

OOOOOOO

"Well, that was the worst practice ever…"

Peter nodded, looking at the others, who were gathered around Ned. It was clear from the motions that his friend was making that he was telling everyone about the not really a fight but almost a fight that had happened in the hallway before practice, and then looking at MJ.

"Yeah. I'm sorry."

She smiled, shaking her head.

"It's Halloween and they're excited about going to the party. Your fight just tipped them over the edge into brainless neandertals."

Peter smiled.

"It wasn't a fight."

"You have a black eye."

"Because Ned hit me."

"Well, he has a black eye, too," she pointed out. "And I know you didn't hit him."

"No."

"Don't worry, Peter. It's only one practice. Besides," she added. "I have to admit that I'm looking forward to the party, too."

"Good. It's going to be great." He rolled his eyes when he saw Ned miming several blows that had never actually fallen, but shrugged. "Tony and Wong are getting the haunted house up, today. They've been planning it all week, now."

"With his tech, it should be incredible," MJ said.

"Yeah." More like with Wong's magic, of course, but he couldn't say that. "Are you and Brad going to dress up as a couple?"

"Like Jane and Tarzan, you mean?" she asked, amused.

"Yeah."

"No. He doesn't have the legs to dress as Jane, and I'm certainly not going to."

Peter grinned at that, but before he replied, they were interrupted.

"Parker?" Flash said, walking over. "Did you really just get beat up by Brian Oslander?"

"No. Ned beat me up," Peter replied. "Brian didn't touch me."

"Like he could," one of the girls said, also walking over, now that Ned was finished with his story. "You saw Peter spar that day at the compound. He's incredible. Brian would have gotten his ass kicked if he'd even tried to touch Peter."

"Especially if Tony found out," added Abe.

It was clear that the kids loved the fact that they were on first name basis with many of the avengers. And that they been to the compound more times than any other high school kids – and many adults, too, most likely.

"I wasn't going to let him even start anything," Ned assured them, walking over, too. "Oslander's just an asshole bully, and jealous that he doesn't get to go to the party."

There were excited murmurs of agreement.

"I'll talk to him," Flash offered, looking at Peter. "And tell him to leave you alone."

Unlike the others on the tea, Flash was one of the popular kids, more or less, and was also on the football team. Peter was surprised by the offer, and had a hard time hiding that fact.

"Thanks."

He was more worried, really, about some of the football players deciding to take out their frustrations by going after some of Peter's friends, really. Peter could hold his own – probably against the whole team at once, if he needed to. The others (aside from Ned) were walking targets, for the most part.

"Is Shuri coming to the party?" one of the girls asked, before Flash could reply.

"She is."

"Is dressing like a princess?"

"She should," Ned said. "It'd be hilarious if she was Jasmine, or some other Disney princess."

"She didn't tell me what she decided to dress as," Peter admitted. He assumed that she was continuously changing her mind and didn't want to commit to anything in particular until she had decided. "It'll be as much a surprise to me as it is to everyone else. Are you guys all ready?"

Again, assorted noises of agreement with an undertone of excitement.

Like most times they were going to the compound as a group, they were going to meet up with SHIELD agents to be driven out as a group. It made for less traffic, and less issues with trying to vet more people if single participants were driving the kids, individually. The avengers were good about having Peter's friends and teammates to the compound to allow him to socialize (in their own backyard, though) but they didn't want a lot of strangers running around their secure base. Especially with everyone in costume.

Besides, there was every chance that the party would go late, and it would be safer for them to be driven home by rested agents rather than parents tired from a long night of party going.

"What are you going to tell Tony?" Ned asked, as the others started chatting in small groups, again.

"About my eye?"

"Yeah."

"I'll tell him the truth," Peter said.

"Which is…?"

"That you beat me up."

MJ snorted, amused.