Tricks

Seven

"Doctor Strange." Tony greeted the tall man.
"Stark." Stephen nodded shaking Tony's hand. "Where is he?"

"In the living room watching cartoons. He's obsessed with the new Lego cartoons." Tony rolled his eyes and stepped aside and opened the door for the other man.

Strange stepped in and looked around. The Stark tower was very spacious, he could see why Tony would raise his son here. Lots of room for playing, more for wondering. He doubted that Tony's son ever got bored.

"I told him you were coming. And I prepared a room if you need it." Tony told the man, leading the way up the elevator. Stephen followed. They stepped in together but Tony turned his attention to the man in robes.

"Listen, he is my son and he's everything to me. If anything you do hurts him, I swear you won't come back out of here." The genius threatened.

Strange smiled, seeing Tony Stark this protective over someone else was indeed a force to be reckoned with. "Don't worry Stark, as long as Peter isn't possessed by a demon I think we'll be fine."

Tony shot the man a stern look, "It better be."
They stayed quiet as the elevator lead up to the living room where Peter was stuffing his face with popcorn.

"Peter! You're going to spoil your dinner!" Tony shouted when the elevator doors opened. Peter jumped and looked over at his dad with his mouth opened.

Strange wrinkled his nose at the popcorn falling from his mouth.
"Sorry dad!" Peter said, getting up from the sofa. "Are you the wizard?" The brown haired boy questioned looking up at Stephen.

"Wizard? I'm a master of the mystic arts." Stephen informed Peter crossing his arms.
"So do you do magic?" Peter questioned.

"Yes." Strange nodded.
"So you are a wizard." Peter squinted his eyes at the tall man.

Tony bit the inside of his cheek trying not to laugh at the conversation.
"Look dad! A real wizard! Like in Hogwarts!" Peter exclaimed excitedly.

"Yup, all he's missing is the hat." Tony chuckled.

"Not like Harry Potter mind you. Please take this seriously." Stephen spoke, in a from tone crossing his arms.

"Relax he's just a kid, they don't take anything seriously." Tony joked, putting an arm around Peter.

"Sorry Mr. Doctor Strange." Peter ducked his head.

"Let's just get this over with, I need to see if there was any magic interference with the development of your abilities. Sometimes people will use a spell or have one casted on them to further advance their natural abilities." Stephen explained.

"I don't think there were capable of using any Harry Potter junk on him. They weren't smart enough for that." Tony spoke up.

"Either way, better safe than sorry. If it's not produced by magic, then you'll just have to keep an eye out for him." Strange shrugged and nodded towards Peter.

The group started their walk to the spare room that Tony had prepared for them. Peter stood in the middle of the room with the sorcerer in front of him. Tony stayed by the door with his arms crossed as he watched the duo, making sure his son was safe.

"Okay, stay still I want to get this right the first time." Strange instructed. Peter nodded and held his breath as orange sparks danced around his body. Everyone was quiet for the few minutes that Stephen concentrated on the markings that the orange sparks made.

"So got anything?" Tony questioned after a while. Stephen shot the man a glare as the orange sparks disappeared. "Shit, did I ruin something?"

"Dad! That's a hundred for the swear jar!" Peter shouted.
"That's a thing?" Strange asked, raising his eyebrows at the billionaire.

Tony shrugged, "It helps with no cussing."
Stephen rolled his eyes, "Like that'll put a dent in your pocket."

"Haha, what's the verdict doc?"

"There's light magic in your blood. You could've been born with it because of your natural abilities. So there isn't really much work to be done. However, as you go through puberty it'll grow. So far what are you able to do?" Doctor Strange asked.

"Um, I can stick to everything and these string this come out of my wrist." Peter shyly explained.

"Okay, I'll have to see if anything will affect your health when you do these activities." The cloaked man stated. "When you do these things do you feel any different?"

"I get light headed, it's not bad though." The pre-teen shrugged.

Stephen nodded and looked back at Tony, "I can send you some books similar to what he can do. You two can practice those while his abilities settle in. In the meantime I'll see if there is a safe way where you can use your abilities without it affecting you." He turned back to the doe-eyed child.

Peter nodded and beamed up at the sorcerer. Strange slowly nodded back and started out the door. "I'll email you back soon with the information."

Tony clapped Stephen on the back as the two men left the room with Peter asking FRIDAY questions about magic.

"Thanks for not, treating him different. When someone finds out it usually spooks them." Tony said, bit in the inside of his cheek.

"Why would I? Peter means no harm. He wants to learn more about himself. Besides, I've seen scared things then a pre-teen with spider-like abilities." Strange responded.

Tony smiled, "Thanks anyway." He tried to stop his heart from leaping out of his chest when Stephen matched his smile.

Viva La Vida By: Coldplay