New Orleans
August 18, 21:57 CDT
Doctor Strange was flying over the bayou as he sensed a powerful magical aura in the swamps, but he had found nothing so far.
He hovered directly over their swarm and produced a magical holographic image of his manservant Wong, a bold Chinese man.
"Wong, I haven't detected anything sinister in the swamps," he reported.
"I assure you, Master, there was a magical presence here, and it did not come from this plane of existence," said Wong.
"I do not doubt you, Wong," said Doctor Strange, looking troubled. "Whatever was out here, it seems to be gone now. I'll remain here for a few moments to make sure I have not missed something."
"Very well, sir," Wong bowed.
Doctor Strange continued his search but could not sense anything magical. Then, suddenly, a giant serpent erupted from the swamp.
"By the Eye of Agamotto," Doctor Strange gasped.
He then quickly fired a magical blast at the creature, which went straight through it. It took a few moments for him to realise that the serpent was not real.
"Very realistic, Mr Beck," he said somewhat annoyed. "But still fake nonetheless."
Smoke appeared out of nowhere, and suddenly, a man wearing a purple cape and a glass ball over his head appeared.
"The name is Mysterio," he said, bowing.
"Call yourself whatever you like, but you are no real wizard," said Doctor Strange. "Though I am curious as to why you brought me out here. Aren't you supposed to be one of Spider-Man's enemies?"
"Oh, I do have a grudge against the wall-crawler, that is to be certain, but I have my reasons," said Mysterio. "Also, I am not the one that brought you here; I'm merely the distraction."
Doctor Strange was suddenly hit in the back by a burst of green flames and fell into the swamp. He turned his head and saw a beautiful, long, blonde-haired woman wearing green stepping out of the serpent.
"Enchantress," he winced.
"Greetings, Stephen," she smiled, then looked up at Mysterio. "You know what to do, mortal."
Mysterio nodded and then placed a collar around Doctor Strange's neck.
"What do you want?" Doctor Strange asked.
"I want you to take me to something I have my eyes on for quite some time," she said, placing her hand beneath his chin and forcing him to look into her eyes.
"I will never help you," Doctor Strange glared.
"You don't have a choice in the matter," she said.
She then snapped her fingers, and all three of them disappeared in a puff of green smoke.
Avengers Compound
August 19, 19:39 EDT
Everyone had gathered in the training room, minus Eli, as Peter and Rick began to spar with one another.
"Initiate combat training," said the computer. "Three… two… one…"
Both Peter and Rick began to engage one another.
"You know it's a shame that Pete has a girlfriend; he's cute," said Kate.
"What about Rick?" Crystal asked.
"Hmm, he is good-looking but a little wild," Kate frowned.
"Johnny?"
"He literally filled with hot air."
The two girls laughed.
Rick finally managed to grab Peter and then tripped him up, slamming him down onto the floor.
"Fail, Spider-Man," said the computer.
"Cap taught me that one," said Rick, brushing the sweat off his hands.
Vision then flew down from the ceiling where his accommodations were located. Johnny wasted no time and flew over to him.
"Do you have a mission for us?" he asked.
"Mission assignments are Black Widow's responsibility," Vision reminded him.
"Yeah, but she's not here," Johnny pointed out. "She's currently with Cap and Patriot on a secret mission, but you're headed somewhere, right?"
Peter rolled his eyes. "What Johnny is saying is we would like to help."
Vision then brought up a holographic image of Doctor Strange. "Doctor Strange has mysteriously disappeared. According to his manservant Wong, he was investigating a magical presence within New Orleans yesterday, but it had disappeared without a trace. Normally, this type of investigation would go with the Avengers, but there has been a lot of villain activity today, so we are stretched thin. I'm currently the only available Avenger to investigate.
"Doctor Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme; who could take him down?" Peter asked.
"We don't know when that is of some concern," Vision admitted.
Rick rolled his eyes. "So, we're looking for some fancy magician?"
"This fancy magician has collected a number of powerful magical objects and safeguards them," said Vision. "It would be unwise to leave such power under guard."
"Whoever abducted Doctor Strange has to be magical in origin," said Peter folding his arms. "I don't think a simple investigation is going to be able to track him down."
"Indeed, which means it's most likely that whoever captured him wishes to acquire one of his artefacts," Vision concluded. "As such, it would be wise to go to the Sanctum Santorum. I will alert Wong that you'll be right."
New York
August 19, 20:22 EDT
Not too far away, in a warehouse, Enchantress was watching as Mysterio was torturing Doctor Strange.
"You can make it easy on yourself, dear Doctor, and tell me what I need to know," said Enchantress, watching with amusement.
"I will never let the likes of you enter my sanctum," said Doctor Strange.
Mysterio then shocked him, and he cried out in pain.
"The Avengers will come and find me eventually," Doctor Strange panted.
"Unlikely. Did you really think that we did not set this performance without covering all bases," said Mysterio. "Now tell us how to get into the Sanctum, and your suffering will end."
"I would sooner die than let you enter the Sanctum Santorum," said Doctor Strange stubbornly.
"You will wish you'll be dead, but we need you alive," said Mysterio, shocking him again.
"You should listen to the mortal Doctor; he's been gentle compared to what I can do," Enchantress smiled, and then she sensed something. "Well, it looks like we don't need you to get us into the sanctum at all."
She then conjured green smoke, which produced an image of the Secret Warriors arriving at the Sanctum Santorum.
"Yes, these young heroes will do just nicely," she smiled.
The Secret Warriors had just exited the Zeta tube, and when the accident occurred, the alleyway they were in came face-to-face with the Sanctum Santorum.
"So what we do now?" Rick asked.
"I suppose we knock," Kate shrugged.
Peter then walked up to the door and knocked. It instantly opened, and they saw Wong standing there.
"Ah, I was expecting new young ones," he said, opening the door.
"I take it that your Wong?" Johnny assumed.
"Indeed, Johnny Storm, I look after the Sanctum of the Master, which is away," he said, allowing them inside.
"Who is currently kidnapped," said Rick. "I mean, what kind of wizard can't snap his fingers to escape."
"We don't know what happened, Rick, so let's not be judgemental," said Peter.
"We have to assume that whoever took Doctor Strange will be coming here," said Crystal. "Vision said that he guards and collects dangerous magical objects. Maybe they're after one of those."
"They're protected by powerful magical wards. Breaking them will be no easy feat," said Wong. "Not even I am able to break those wards. Only the Master can."
"So you have magic?" Rick frowned.
Wong narrowed his eyes at him. "I would hardly be a good caretaker if I am not able to look after all these magical objects without magic."
"Can you point in the direction of these magical objects?" Peter asked.
Wong then gave him what appeared to be a talisman. "This talisman will guide you towards the collection, but I do advise against doing so. The wards are designed to protect those objects from intruders."
"But we're not intruding," said Crystal.
"Only those with the Master's permission would be able to navigate the place unscathed, and unfortunately, he has not given you permission. As such, you must be wary of the traps that have been placed before you."
"And upon that happy note, let's make our way to the Doctor's collection," said Peter.
Wong watched as the young heroes began making their way up the stairs and promptly vanished into thin air.
"I do hope they come back alive," he said.
He then heard a knock on the door, and when he answered it, he was suddenly shocked by a blast of green flames.
"That was surprisingly easy," said Mysterio as he and Enchantress entered the sanctum with Doctor Strange in tow.
"The defences were already weakened when the young heroes crossed the threshold," said Enchantress. "Now comes the hard part: finding what I'm looking for."
"Even if you find it, you'll find that taking it will be that much harder," Doctor Strange warned.
"Which is why we are taking you along," said Mysterio, shoving him in front of them. "With you with as your own defences would not attack us. Sadly, the same won't be said for our young heroes."
The Secret Warriors were still making their way through the corridor using the medallion that Wong gave them. However, the place was an entire maze, and it didn't help that the rooms kept on changing.
"This place is insane," said Kate as a book flew past them.
"I think it's wondrous," said Crystal.
"I've seen some pretty crazy stuff, but I have to say this is the first time I've stepped foot in a wizard house," said Johnny.
"It's probably all special effects," said Rick dismissively. He then looked at Peter. "What do you think Pete?"
"I think the more I tried to understand magic, the more it made my head hurt," said Peter, looking back.
"Wait, you're not saying you believe in all this?" Rick stared. "You're a scientist. How can you believe in magic?"
Peter shrugged. "Magic is just a form of science we can't understand; that's how I see it. Besides, I've actually seen special effects that try to simulate magic before, and I can tell you that this is the real deal."
"So, do you have any idea what we're looking for?" Kate asked.
"No clue; I guess we just got the Doctor's collection," said Peter.
"And how do we even know it's in danger?" Rick asked.
"We're just taking precautions, at least until the Avengers find the Doctor," Peter explained.
"Strange that the Avengers are busy when one of their own disappears," said Crystal. "It's almost as if it was planned that way."
Meanwhile, Enchantress and Mysterio were making their way down the corridor, dragging Doctor Strange along.
"We've been going around in circles for half an hour!" said Mysterio impatiently.
"Yes, this has been going on long enough," Enchantress agreed and approached Doctor Strange with her hand filled with flames. "You'll take us then now or face the consequences!"
Doctor Strange chuckled. "If you kill me, you'll never find what you're looking for, and I have no intentions of leading you to it."
Enchantress looked infuriated, and that's when a door opened, and the Secret Warriors walked out.
"Are we there yet?" Rick asked.
Peter sighed. "We'll get there when we—" He stopped when he saw both Enchantress and Mysterio. "Mysterio?"
Doctor Strange used this distraction to use his magic to untimed himself, and he then suddenly took off so fast that both Mysterio and Enchantress fell over. He then quickly opened the door wide enough for them to enter.
"In here!" he said.
Enchantress picked herself up and least blue flames, but Strange managed to close the door behind them before they could make contact.
"That should put them out of our hair for a little while," said Doctor Strange.
"Who was that crazy lady and the guy in the fishbowl?" Crystal asked.
"The guy with the fishbowl was one of my enemies, Mysterio," Peter explained.
"Is he some kind of wizard?" Rick asked.
"No, just a very good special effects guy," said Peter. "He uses advanced robotics and holographic technology to simulate magic."
"Mysterio is indeed a charlatan, but that woman is another story," said Doctor Strange. "Her name is Amora, more commonly known as the Enchantress. She is, in fact, from Thor's neck of the woods."
"Wait, you're saying that she's Asgardian?" said Kate.
"Unfortunately, she's very well adept when it comes to magic. Though I am surprised that she is willing to work with a charlatan like Quentin Beck."
"Do you have any idea what she might be after?" Peter asked.
"No, but I do know that she wouldn't risk attacking the sanctum unless it was important. I possess several items that she would love to get her hands on."
"So what do we do now?" Johnny asked.
"They will have a hard time finding why I keep my items now, but I fear that won't stop Amora. We were sent to my collection and protected at all costs." He then looked at the young heroes and frowned. "Ah, but I don't think you really should be doing this in your civiles."
He waved his hand, and instantly, the young heroes found themselves in their costumes; he even managed to force Rick to transform.
"Still don't believe in magic now?" Hawkeye smirked at A-Bomb.
"This way, my young friends," said Doctor Strange.
As he guided them to his collection, Spider-Man explained what had happened since his disappearance.
"Only Vision was free to search for you, but we convinced them to send us instead," he explained.
"I see," said Doctor Strange as he stroked his beard. "Clearly, Amora has been planning this for quite some time."
He soon opened the door, and they found themselves in a room filled with magical artefacts.
"Whoa," Torch stared.
"This room is filled with magical artefacts that I have collected over the years," Doctor Strange explained as they walked through it. He then turned his eyes to A-Bomb, who was reaching out towards a skeleton hand, "and I would appreciate it if you don't touch anything."
A-Bomb quickly pulled his hand away and smiled awkwardly.
"You just have them out in the open?" Hawkeye frowned.
"There are magical wards surrounding them, but we are so deep in the sanctum that normally no one is able to get this far," Doctor Strange explained.
Spider-Man then suddenly felt his spider-sense tingle. "Uh, Doc, I'm afraid we're coming!"
Everyone quickly jumped out of the way just before the doors were blown clean off the hinges.
"Founded at last," said Enchantress as she stepped inside.
"How do they find this place so fast?" A-Bomb asked.
Spider-Man then saw a small device attached to Doctor Strange's cloak and removed it. "They found us with this."
"You're not the only one who has access to advanced traces," said Mysterio. "I must say I was not expecting to see you here, wall-crawler, not that I'm complaining."
"Don't forget the reason why we're here, mortal," said Enchantress.
"No one ever said I can't mix business with pleasure."
He then placed a device on his gauntlets and suddenly began to multiply.
A-Bomb laughed. "Do you really think you could pull us with illusions?"
"A-Bomb, wait!" Spider-Man yelled as he charged in.
A-Bomb then swung his fist at the Mysterio, who had moved. However, he was surprised to discover that his fist had gone straight through him. A split second later, he was hit by a bolt of lightning and was sent crashing into a bookshelf.
"I believe I can pull you with illusions," Mysterio laughed.
"I'll handle Mysterio, and the rest of you deal with the Enchantress!" Spider-Man yelled as he quickly moved in.
The illusions of Mysterio then began firing bolts of lightning from their hands, but Spider-Man kept on running, and some of them just went straight through him.
"Did you forget that illusions can't be full by my spidey sense?" said Spider-Man as he performed a flying kick to construct the real Mysterio.
Mysterio crashed into the door frame and rubbed his stomach before looking up at him. "True, that's why I've picked up a few tricks."
He pressed a button on his call again, and suddenly, the entire place changed into a jungle.
"What just happened?" Torch asked.
"One of Mysterio's holograms," said Spider-Man. "Be careful; we're still in the sanctum, so don't be fooled by everything around you."
"Thanks for the tip," said Hawkeye as she fired an arrow at Enchantress.
Enchantress merely waved her hand, and the arrow disappeared in a puff of smoke. "The Avengers really must be shorthanded. They're sending children to fight their battles."
"We children can more than hold our owner," said Torch as he proved a few fireballs that are.
Enchantress quickly created a shield blocking the attack. "Your powers are indeed strong, but I have more than 1000 years of experience under my belt."
She then fired a burst of green flames, which struck Torch in the chest, sending him flying.
Crystal then jumped in, unleashing bolts of electricity, but she disappeared in a puff of green smoke, reappeared behind her, and attacked her from behind. She was about to deal the finishing blow when a magical chain wrapped itself around her arm. She turned her head and saw that the chain from Doctor Strange was hovering in midair.
"I will not allow you to harm these young ones," he said defiantly.
"You are indeed a powerful sorcerer, my dear Stephen, but I'm more than a match for you," she said.
She then fired off a burst of green flames, and Doctor Strange quickly created a magical shield to block the attack. Enchantress began to hop in midair, unleashing powerful spells at Doctor Strange, which he began to counter.
Spider-Man, meanwhile, was trying to pinpoint Mysterio, but it was not easy when the entire area looked like a jungle. He felt his spidey sense tingling quickly jump out of the way just as a bolt of lightning shot out from a bush.
"Use all the illusions you want, Beck, but you still can't fool Spidey sense," said Spider-Man, and they quickly dived down into the bush.
He went straight through the bush, but there was no sign of Mysterio, and he quickly somersaulted on the way to dodge another bolt of lightning.
"I don't need to fool your spidey sense; I just have to wear you down," he said.
Spider-Man then landed on the tree, which suddenly began to tip over. He found that he had landed on an unstable bookshelf that had just fallen. Mysterio stepped out of the jungle and aimed his gauntlet down at him.
"It's time to say good night, wall-crawler," he said.
However, A-Bomb suddenly punched him in the face, knocking his fishbowl clean off.
"Uh, good night," Spider-Man blinked.
Enchantress was still doing a magical battle with Doctor Strange when she saw the holographic jungle disappear. She then suddenly found herself surrounded by the young heroes.
"I don't even think you're skilled enough to take all of us down," said Doctor Strange.
"I admit that I am outnumbered, but I've already achieved my objective," she smiled and snapped her fingers.
Before anyone could stop her, she suddenly disappeared in a puff of green smoke.
"She's gone," said Hawkeye.
"She said that she had already achieved her objective, but what was it?" Crystal asked.
"Did she take something?" Spider-Man.
"Probably," said Doctor Strange. He then looked around and saw that the entire room was a mess. "Though finding out what she has taken may take some time."
A few moments later, both Spider-Man and Torch handed Mysterio over to the cops and informed the Avengers that Doctor Strange was all right. They soon returned to the sanctum, where everyone else was tidying up and trying to figure out what the Enchantress had taken.
"I'm just saying that your villains seem to have the oddest dress sense," said Torch at the end of the room. "I mean, who wears a fishbowl over their head?"
"Hey, it's like I choose my villains," said Spider-Man.
"About time you two got back," said Hawkeye. "How long does it take to make a phone call and handle Loon over the cops?"
Doctor Strange then hovered towards them. "Did you inform the Avengers of the Enchantress?"
"We did," said Spider-Man. "Thor still finds it hard to believe that the Enchantress would ally with a mortal, let alone someone like Mysterio. He's not even in the top 10 of my supervillains."
"You have a top 10?" Torch blinked.
"Doesn't everyone?"
"Is this conversation really important?" Hawkeye asked irritably.
"Actually, I agree with Thor," said Doctor Strange, rubbing his beard. "This was indeed quite a bold move, and Asgardians rarely work for those here on earth."
"Thor does," said Crystal.
"That's because he's actually spent some time here and walked among them."
"Could Loki be involved?" Spider-Man asked.
"Passably, but unlikely. Loki, in particular, distaste's working with us mortals; manipulating them to do his bidding is another matter entirely. However, Mr Beck did not seem to have been manipulated."
"No, it did look as if he was working for his own free will," Spider-Man agreed. "And that itself is unusual. I mean, he usually works alone."
"So, have you found what is missing yet?" Torch asked.
Doctor Strange looked towards Wong. "Wong, have you the inventorying?"
Wong approached them with a clipboard. "I have checked to see if anything is missing, and we do appear to be missing a single item."
He then handed the clipboard over to Doctor Strange and examined it. "The Mind Stone?"
"What's the Mind Stone?" Crystal asked.
"A stone of immeasurable power, but I only required it recently, so I have not yet had time to examine it. However, I can determine that it was far older than anything in this room."
"How do you know it's called the Mind Stone?" Hawkeye asked.
"For it seems to have some sort of effect on the mind, I only held it briefly for a few moments, and I nearly went insane."
"But you have one of the strongest minds on the planet?" said Spider-Man.
"Indeed, so either the Enchantress does not realise what she has or, and this is more concerning, she knows exactly what she has. If it's the latter, then we should be prepared for anything. I will have to inform the Avengers of this, but I am grateful to all of you for coming to my assistance."
"We still failed in our mission to stop the Enchantress," Spider-Man pointed out.
"You're not alone in that failure; I, too, share that responsibility. Now, I do believe it's getting late, and I think your families will be wondering where you are now."
"Some of us don't have families," A-Bomb muttered.
"Being nice," Kate hissed, elbowing him, but soon regretted it, forgetting just how tough his armour was. "Ow! Your body is just as thick as your head!"
"Guys, can we please not do this here," Spider-Man pleaded.
"Indeed, you should do it outside," Doctor Strange nodded and then sat his fingers.
A portal appeared in front of them, and he centred straight towards them.
Seconds later, the young heroes found themselves outside the sanctum.
"Still don't believe in magic?" Kate smirked at A-Bomb.
"Okay, maybe magic does exist," said A-Bomb, rolling his eyes.
"Come on, let's just go home," said Spider-Man.
Doctor Stephen Strange was born in 1977. He was a skilled physician and considered the world's greatest Doctor, but he only treated patients who could have paid for his absurd fees. Then, in 2001, while speeding in his car, he had a terrible accident that shattered the bones in his hands and caused extensive nerve damage, preventing him from doing complex operations.
Desperate to find a cure for his ailing hands, he wasted all the money he had on expensive treatments that were unsuccessful. He then heard rumours of someone called the Ancient One in the Himalayas, who could heal any ailment.
While sceptical, he decided to visit this Ancient One but refused to help due to his arrogance. However, he sensed some good in him and wanted to bring that out, so he began to teach him the ways of magic. He began his hero career in the year 2003, but he mostly battled against mystic foes.
Doctor Strange is a skilled physician and a master of the mystic arts.