Magic Mania: Book One

19

"Fine, Scott, but only very, very last resort," Strange told Scott after he shared his incredibly risky plan B. "As in, only if we need a quick escape and I can't use my sling ring for some reason."

They were about to put their unideal, basic plan into action. Stephen wasn't liking the odds, so he suspected they'd end up winging it, or else worse, having to follow Scott's escape plan.

"Of course, Stephen," Scott said. "You didn't think I meant this as our actual plan, did you?"

"It'd be so much easier if Loki could just turn us all invisible," Wanda said, frowning at the plan they'd concocted to get inside the "villain lair" as Scott had privately nicknamed it.

"Hey, I can't just make you invisible. It doesn't work like that," Loki frowned. "Trust me, if I could, I would. But can I please ask you to justify the reason I'm not allowed to stab anyone Strange?"

Strange sighed. They'd been through this already. "Loki, I told you, we're trying to minimise casualties, not cause them."

"But I might not necessarily kill them, just severely injure them," Loki argued. "What's the point of a fight where the opposition is trying to kill you, but we can't injure them back?"

"Fine. I give you permission, if someone is trying to kill one of us, but only if they are, you are allowed to severely injure them," decided Strange, which made Loki's face light up in a way that made Stephen immediately regret saying that.

"And if anyone severely injures one of us?" enquired Wanda. "Does anyone actually know any healing magic?"

"Ugh, I'm great with a First Aid kit," Scott admitted, scratching his head, worriedly. "Is the chance of severe injury high?"

"Depends whether this plan works or not," shrugged Loki. "And how good these wizards are at fighting. If things get really bad I can carry one of you to the hospital about a quarter of a mile the way we came and see if there's anything we can do there, but I doubt we'll have to."

"I think you might've just jinxed it," Scott pointed out.

"You asked."

"OK then everyone," Dr Strange said, dramatically, although he hadn't meant for it to be dramatic, "let's move."

Next to him, the others prepared for battle. Scott flipped on his helmet and shrunk. Loki turned invisible. Wanda tightened the knot in her hoodie around her waist. Feeling left out, Stephen adjusted the collar part of his cloak for dramatic effect. This dramatic effect was ruined slightly when one side of the cloak immediately dropped again. If anyone was to come up the street now and seen them do all that, wearing matching aviator sunglasses, they would've turned the other way.

"So, I didn't know you could turn invisible," whispered Stephen to where he suspected Loki was.

From somewhere to his left, he heard Loki whisper back, "I said I'd learned stealth stuff, didn't I?"

As they approached the window Loki had entered through, it miraculously opened, and though Strange knew it was Loki doing it, was still quite ominous. Stephen waited until he thought Loki had made it in before floating up with a little help from his cloak, then when Wanda made it through, closing it silently again.

They encountered no one on the way to the staircase to the basement. Standing at the top, he guessed that maybe Loki leading the way wasn't particularly smart, because he was certain he was going to bump into him. Just as he was thinking this, however, at the bottom of the staircase, Loki became briefly visible to stare at them and beckon them to follow. He mouthed, "What you waiting for?"