MAGIC TRICKS [PETER PARKER]

ONE

"SUBJECT IS THE SUPPOSED VIGILANTE OF QUEENS. PEOPLE ARE CALLING HIM THE SPIDER-MAN."

I stifled a laugh into my mug, making steam shoot up my nose. "Spider-Man? What, does he eat his spouse after laying eggs?" I chuckled, placing the hot chocolate back onto the table after the dry attempt at a joke. My colleague, Stephen Strange, glared, but there was a slight smile in his eyes. "This is serious Nadia. Wong has entrusted me to take care of these potential threats to our world, and now I've entrusted you," he warned, suddenly solemn. My grin remained, and I shook my head. "I know, I know, Strange. Ive done this before, and I'm completely prepared. I had the best mentor, you know," I smiled, knowing good and well that I was buttering him up like a piece of toast. Strange gave a little chuckle. "Right, yes..." I knew him well- nothing like a little flattery to do the trick. I continued on with my cup of hot chocolate.

It had been two years since Zac had died and all of my friends stopped being my friends. They hated me after the incident, though I knew it was more so fear than anything. Who wouldn't be afraid of me?

Like always, I pushed all thoughts of them from my mind and poured myself into other things, like learning the Mystic Arts, something that Stephen Strange said I was naturally gifted in. The thought occurred to me that maybe sometimes it seemed a little messed that I was using the same powers that had killed my parents. It brought an awful feeling to rise in my chest, guilt to bubble in my brain, but remembered that I was trying to learn to control them so that it would never happen again. Most times, I avoided thinking about it.

"There's been no pictures of the man underneath the mask... So I'm gonna need you to tap in."

My smile melted away. Tapping in was the worst. It was physically and mentally draining, and I had to do it a lot, considering I was the only person Stephen Strange knew of who could tap in. It was one of the reasons Dr. Strange had agreed to train me.

"Fine," I grunted. I raised my eyebrows, looking him in the eyes, sternly saying, "But if I don't find him the first time, I'm not doing it again." A smile spread across Strange's lips.

I sunk back into the chair as Strange floated around the room, setting up the candles that allowed me to focus (we called them the Concentration Candles, for poetic purposes), and turned down the lights. "Are you ready?" he asked once he had finished. I sighed deeply, pushing all the thoughts from my mind, closed my eyes and laid my head back. "Ready."

Dr. Strange began to start a spell, waving his hands in elaborate circles, until his voice became a dull buzz. I could feel myself floating in between the realms, searching for the person Dr. Strange had mentioned. My eyes shot open, a blazing, solid white, and my mouth slid open as I was hit with bursts of information. I saw flashes of dark hair and matching brown eyes- a sweet smile and a sweater vest. A red and blue suit with the image of a spider on the chest. Then blackness.