Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in the story. Any resemblance to actual people are purely coincidental.
A cool night's breeze greeted Doctor Strange and Ant-Man as they walked through the conjured portal onto the quiet stretch of neighbourhood. Trim houses lined either side of the street, many of their front porches decorated with Jack O' Lanterns and casting warm glows. There was a smattering of trick-or-treaters accompanied by their guardians up ahead but thankfully the two heroes' appearance had gone unnoticed.
"Thanks again, Strange."
"It was my pleasure. I hope Cassie feels better soon. Ask her not to scratch the skin too much."
They both agreed it was lucky that Scott's little girl stayed at home with the Chickenpox on this particular Halloween, what with Mordo's reality bending spell causing people to turn into the real-live version of their costumes.
"It's like nothing happened here…" Scott remarked, looking up and down his street.
"Oh, it happened alright," said the sorcerer, whose clairvoyance had kicked in the instant they stepped through the gateway. "A bit of a shock, but they are most of them getting over it." People were already used to super-powered beings, aliens, dinosaurs, and other weird stuff abruptly dropping in on their daily lives.
They bid each other good night. Scott shrunk himself, hopped onto one of his flying ants, and took off saying how he can't wait to tell Cassie about how he, Spidey and Doctor Strange saved Halloween. Stephen Strange watched till they were out of sight, then waited a little while, undetected with a bit of magic, for the group of trick-or-treaters to pass him by. They walked right past him, unaware that the mystic protector of Earth was standing just a few feet away.
Every year when people were celebrating All Hallow's Eve, he would be vigilantly keeping the spooky things at bay, for it was on this night when the barriers between dimensions blurred and waned, that the likes of the dread Dormammu and his dark servants, or Nightmare the evil ruler of the land of the dreaming, would seek to invade our world. It was part of his job as the sorcerer supreme of this realm. And seeing others like Scott and Cassie were safe and sound reminded him that it was all well worth it.
This October 31st was going better than expected really. Halloweens tended to be lonely, gruelling nights banishing entities back to wherever they came from, but this time he was lucky to have Spider-Man and Ant-Man fighting by his side. None of them could have "saved Halloween" as Scott had put it, without the others' help. His only regret tonight was Mordo. Karl Mordo was a fool, but Stephen felt sorry for him nonetheless.
Well, he ought to be returning to his sanctum now. The night was not over yet and there might still be mystical mischief afoot. He summoned a portal home and soon he was back in his living room with its fireplace and ornate furnishings. A quick scrying with the orb of Agamotto showed nothing, but just when he thought he might actually have some peace and quiet after the evening's events, the doorbell started to ring. He sighed.
"This place gives me the heebie-jeebies! Let's go somewhere else, guys…"
"Don't be such a baby."
"I think it's kinda cool!"
"Does anyone even live here?"
"Sure! We've seen him loads of times! Alright, maybe a few times…"
A group of children stood on the doorstep of the most mysterious house on Bleecker Street. They were among the brave ones, choosing to go ahead with their quest for free candy even with knowledge of the weirdness that happened in the city earlier.
The two oldest girls were sporting a lot of body paint – one blue and wearing a flowing knee-length dress, one lavender purple and wearing a tank top and leggings. A skinny boy dressed in business casual and holding a paw shaped popsicle was bickering with his little sister who wore a police outfit, a carrot-shaped pen in her front pocket. A short curly-haired girl who carried a cardboard short sword, whose waistcoat was missing buttons skulked quietly at the back. And the smallest boy was looking dapper with black suit and pants, burgundy coloured fez and a walking cane.
"Good evening, children. What can I do for you?" came his ringing voice. They gaped. The doors had creaked open by themselves and the master of the sanctum emerged with full paraphernalia, cloak billowing and looking impressive. "Oh. One moment," he said when they continued to gawk. He magicked a generous bowl of sweets out of the air. That's right Stephen, it's Halloween! He was expecting persons who somehow knew he could help with occult problems, maybe more superheroes like the Avengers. It had been awhile since children came trick-or-treating at this creepy old building!
The small party broke into happy grins. "TRICK OR TREAT!" they chorused at last, holding out paper bags.
Stephen gave a small smile. Thank the Vishanti, he thought to himself and handed out candy to the amazed and delighted kids.
FIN
Author's note: I'm not very familiar with this Spider-Man cartoon but I really liked the team up of Spidey, Doc & Ant-Man. There are some easter eggs, mainly cartoon and movie references. (Hint: It's the cosplay!) Also, thank you FB friends for your help.