-Unbetaed so please kindly point out any mistakes.
-Warning: just some very mild language.

"That was not true at all. I was just telling some jokes to make Doc happy."

Happy rolled his eyes. "I can see that the doctor was very entertained by your story." He stepped forward and looked closer. "He looks terrible. I didn't know the situation was this bad."

Peter looked at Doc again and he indeed looked much worse than before with sweats dripping off his forehead and he seemed to have some difficulty breathing. He touched his forehead and it was burning. He remembered the side effects Karen mentioned.

"I think poor Doc will actually feel worse than he looks when he wakes up." He explained what Karen told him with Karen correcting him when he got the terms wrong. "Do you have the valium?"

"I certainly do." Happy tied a tourniquet on Doc's left arm, found a vein to inject the valium, and released the tourniquet.

"I didn't know you were an expert in injection."

"When you work for Mr. Stark, you've become an expert in a lot of things especially in babysitting him because he didn't eat and sleep properly."

"Actually, Doc is the same when he is researching on any interdimensional threat. Why do I hang out with such people? What does it say about me?"

Happy shrugged. "I may be an expert in a lot of things but not psychology. Let's carry him back to the Avengers Tower."

"Do you mind if we bring him back to his Sanctum instead? He called me for help instead of the Avengers so perhaps he didn't want the Avengers to get involved."

The real reason Peter changed his mind was the psychological effects the drugs would have when Doc woke up. He knew Doc was a very proud person. He assumed Doc certainly wouldn't want the Avengers to see him at his weakest. Peter knew he was being sentimental because the Avengers had great facility to take care of Doc but somehow Doc's emotional well-being seemed to be more important for now. He had learned from his encounter with Liz's father that being a hero was not only about physical confrontation. Sometime the sacrifice a hero made was more personal and subtle. He shook his head. This was going too deep. For God's sake, he was only 15!

"You know that you're being an idiot. Dr. Cho and the Avengers would take care of him really well. It was not the first time he ended up in the Avengers Tower Medical Bay."

Peter didn't know that. However, he still believed going back to the Sanctum was the right call. "I know. However, Doc trusted me so I don't want to betray his trust. Besides, I could always call you when something goes wrong." He gave Happy his most winsome smile.

Happy sighed. "That trick only works for Mr. Stark. Fine, you can bring him back to the Sanctum. However, if anything goes wrong, you contact Mr. Stark directly. As I said, this has become an official Avengers business."

"Thanks, Mr. Hogan. Shall we dress Doc first before carrying him?"

Happy took out a black sweatshirt with the letters "I heart Black Widow" in red and a pair of blue sweatpants.

"So you're also a fan of Black Widow."

"Zip it or I'll just carry the doctor to the Avengers Tower."

Peter bit his lower lip to prevent himself from smiling. "Fine, fine. I just think Doc is a bit scared of Black Widow but it beats being shirtless."

Happy lifted Doc's upper body and let Peter dressed him. Once they were done, the process was repeated with his lower body. Peter didn't realize how hard it was to dress an unconscious person. Mr. Hogan seemed to have a lot of practice and he didn't really want to know the reason.

"I need to call Mr. Stark first to let him know the change of plan."

Happy stepped outside to make the call. He returned three minutes later.

"Mr. Stark said it's fine. It's safe to go to the Sanctum now. Apparently Thor has confronted and arrested a group of HYDRA agents hiding near the Sanctum. I guess they planned to ambush Doctor Strange if their initial plan failed."

Peter was a bit nervous when he heard it. Why didn't he think of that? Doc was their primary target so of course HYDRA would have backup plans. He was still quite new in this superhero business compared to the Avengers.

Happy saw his apprehension. "Mr. Stark said the Avengers will arrest the rest of the gang so you don't need to worry about it."

"Doesn't he know that I'm a professional worrier? I worry about a lot of imaginary things and this one is real enough."

"So do you want to go back to the Avengers Tower?"

Peter thought about Doc and strengthened his resolve. "No, well, at least not yet. Let's go."

"That's what I thought. I get his head, you get his legs."

Peter thought it was cute that Happy thought he was stronger than Peter. But he didn't want to dash his hope so he just let Happy took the lead.

They carried Doc to the limo. Happy went to the driver's door. Peter quickly ran to the van to retrieve Doc's belongings. He was sure Doc would want the cloak and his other belongings nearby when he woke up.

As soon as Happy drove away, Peter saw a few black vans arrived. He saw men and women in black suits with SHIELD logo surrounded the warehouse.

When they arrived at the Sanctum, Happy asked, "Do you have the key to this place?"

Peter smiled. "I don't need to. Doc said he has programmed the house to recognize me and let me in anytime I want. Of course, I usually call him first in case he is busy or away."

True to Doc's word, as soon as they approached, the gate automatically swung inward to let them in. Happy shuddered.

Peter shrugged. This was nothing compared to what he had witnessed inside the house. Some of the items in the house still gave him the creeps but he really liked Doc's company so he simply ignored them. Doc said he was safe as long as he didn't touch those items without his permission.

Peter then opened the car door and both Happy and he carried Doc through the gate. The front door also automatically swung in to let them in.

"Where is his room?"

"It's on the third floor but I think we can use the library. He put a cot there."

Peter pointed to the third door on the right from the front door. They put Doc to bed.

"It's really none of my business but it seems you spend awful lot of time here and also at the Avengers Tower. Don't you have homework to do? "

"Why is everyone always worried about my homework?! I always get good grades. Besides, I sometime, bring my homework here when Aunt May is out working which is most of the time and Ned has something else to do."

"Well, as long as you still maintain good grades because you know how Mr. Stark is about your education. I nearly forgot. He gave this to you and also Doctor Strange if he wants to eat."

Peter opened the bag. "Dumpling soup, Kung Pao chicken, Lo Mein, and Mango Pudding. All of these are my favorites. Thanks."

"Thank Mr. Stark. I need to go back to the Tower, if you need anything else, as I said, please contact Mr. Stark directly."

"I will. I'll get my backpack and Doc's stuff from the car."

As soon as Happy left, Peter knew he needed to call someone else before doing his homework and waiting Doc to wake up. He hoped Doc would wake up soon. At least the valium was already working as Doc seemed to have calmed down compared to earlier.

He was tempted to use Doc's phone which was on the coffee table (Doc must have left in a hurry this morning that he forgot to bring his phone) to call the person but decided against it because he didn't want to intrude too much on Doc's privacy. Although he often talked to Peter and answered all the questions related to medicine, magic, or his adventures, Doc didn't talk much about his personal life or his past. He only knew Doc's past from the story he told Peter in their first meeting.

"Karen, could you ask Friday to contact Mr. Wong? Please tell him about Doc's condition and we need his help."

"I will, Peter."

Ten minutes later, a glowing portal appeared in the library. Although Doc had taught him how to make one, he was still mesmerized whenever he saw a portal. An Asian man dressed in robes stepped in.

Peter thought, "That must be their uniforms. How cool is that?"

"You must be Wong. I'm Spider-Man, Doc's friend."

The man nodded. He went to check on Doc. "What has the idiot gotten himself into this time?"

Wong closed his eyes, chanted some incantation, and used his hands to scan Doc's body from top to bottom. He opened his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. "Besides some slight physical injuries most likely occurred this morning, he doesn't have any magical injuries."

Peter squeaked. "There is magical injury!? How is that different from physical injuries?" Wong raised both eyebrows. "OK, perhaps I don't want to know."

"Didn't the idiot tell you? I guess he didn't want to scare you away. That's the only smart thing he did out of this whole mess."

"Doc might not have any magical injury but he might suffer from psychological trauma when he wakes up." He repeated what he told Happy before—this time with less correction from Karen. "Could you do something about it? Perhaps cure him?"

"I'll try to take away most of the side effects but contrary to what people thought about magicians, we don't think magic solves everything. There is also the cost of using magic to consider."

Wong did more intricate hand movements and incantations. There was a blue light coming out of his fingertips and went to cover Doc's whole body before it dissipated. "That should take most of the side effects away but he'll still be emotionally vulnerable to a lesser degree. I've also taken the precaution to put the spell to keep him away from Nightmare."

Peter heard the emphasis on "nightmare".

"Don't you mean nightmares? He has some earlier." Peter told him what happened earlier in the warehouse.

Wong sighed. "He told me he was dealing with them but most likely he didn't or couldn't. I'll talk to him when he recovers. My spells should protect him from any nightmares and also Nightmare this time."

"So there is indeed a demon called Nightmare!?" Peter felt like screaming. "So not only I need to worry about my regular nightmares, but also a demon called Nightmare."

Wong sighed again. "You'll be fine. Stephen has dealt with him a few times and come out on top in ..." He did some mental calculation. "… well, most of the time. I need to go. Please tell the idiot that I'll have a long talk with him about his disregard for his own safety and charging in headfirst into danger without any backup."

Peter yelped. "Are you not going to wait for him to wake up?"

"Unfortunately no, I really need to investigate who caused this and prevent further damage."

"It's HYDRA. I don't think there is any magical danger."

"The Avengers are certainly not experts in this field. I still need to investigate and prevent further incidents with Stephen or other sorcerers."

"I… I'm not sure I can't deal with emotionally vulnerable Doc. What if he cries? I would most likely join him."

Wong gave him a look that seemed to convey "Are you sure you're a superhero called Spider-Man?" Well, at least Peter thought so. He wasn't an expert in silent stare.

"He asked you for help so he trusted you enough. No matter how strong the drugs were and how powerful Doctor Faustus is, I know Stephen. He is one the most stubborn person I've ever met and I've met plenty. He will recover from it soon and become a pain in the ass again. You just need to be patient with him for a short while."

Peter felt he was fighting a losing battle asking Wong to stay. But his name was not Peter Parker if he didn't try every other trick he knew. "You certainly can't expect me to tell him that he is an idiot?!"

"You'll be fine. Everyone he knows tells him he is an idiot. Thank you for rescuing and helping the idiot. You're a good friend." Wong patted his right shoulder.

He then turned around, created a portal, and stepped through it. Peter saw people dressed in robes on the other side so most likely that was Kamar-Taj.

Peter went to check on Doc. At least he was not as warm as before and didn't sweat anymore. "Please wake up soon and don't cry."

He didn't realize how hungry he was. He ate half of all the food Happy brought.

He then started to do his favorite homework – science, before moving on to math, and finally his least favorite subject, social study. He looked at Doc every ten or fifteen minutes but he didn't stir at all.

He finished all his homework in eighty seven minutes. He didn't time it, he just happened to know the time when he started and when he finished. He decided to look up on magical injuries and Nightmare on the internet using his StarkPad. Unsurprisingly, the information on those was very scarce and mostly written by nutjobs. He really needed to ask Doc about them.

He moved on to read news about Justice League. He thought that was cute that Justice League was sort of like The Avengers but it was fictional. He was engrossed in reading whether Selina Kyle accepted the proposal of Bruce Wayne (who was so like Tony Stark) so he jumped the third time that day when he heard a voice behind him.

He turned round to see Doc trying to get up and failing. "Spider-Man, why are you here? Why am I in bed? Whe-… where is my cloak?"

Peter's heart sank as he looked at Doc's expression. He looked so lost.

Notes:

-I hope Wong was not too out of character as he spoke more here than in the movie. I just presumed because he didn't suffer fools gladly and Stephen behaved very foolishly in the movie. He is also a compassionate man so he helps Peter and Stephen in his own way. I also hope Peter and Happy are in characters. Peter seems to be very wise for his age but I also get the same impression from the comics.
-Nightmare considers Doctor Strange as his arch nemesis as he protects this world from Nightmare's invasion. In fact, the first time Doctor Strange appeared in the Marvel comic in Strange Tales 110, his first foe is Nightmare. Since then, Doctor Strange needs to cast a spell on himself before he sleeps. When he forgets, Nightmare will certainly go to haunt him. Nightmare even haunted Hulk's dreams so he would go crazy and destroy Doc because Doc and Hulk were allies in the Defenders (the original comic Defenders, not the recent Netflix series and the recent comic based on the series).
-Time for shameless self-promotion. The story about Doc's stay in the Avengers Tower medical bay is in The Paladin, his history with Black Widow is in Doctor Doctor.
-Next: the return of the cloak (plus the Doctor), the story about how Doc ended up in that warehouse, plus what Doc and Peter regard each other as.
-Feedback and comments are welcome.