THE APPRENTICE (DOCTOR STRANGE STORY)

10

"Hazel!"

"Yeah?!"

"Are you gonna go out today?" Strange asked as he opened her door "like, to the city?"

"Yeah, why?" Hazel rolled over from her stomach to the edge of the bed, sitting down "Are you gonna come with?"

"No, but can you get ice cream?" He asked as he gave her a 20 dollar bill, which she didn't take

"No, I got it, okay" she nodded "I can get pizza for dinner, too."

"Will you?" She nodded "oh, thanks." He left the room, his footsteps sounding around "and before midnight!" He warned

The two have gotten closer ever since she's moved in. Strange decided to drop the whole professional act, because they knew each other too well for him to be so formal. He occasionally tried to act mean to her, but he just couldn't anymore; it just wasn't the same.

* * * *

"That's 5.99" the cashier softly said, still puzzled about her outfit. She handed in her cash and bagged up the groceries "what are you, some kind of monk?"

"Do monks even eat ice cream?" She questioned out loud, taking the bags from her hands and carrying them

"Probably not." She shrugged, and turned away. Hazel walked out from the store; she always ended up sticking out like a thumb. People would always stare or point at her, and they'd always ask her about her religion; she felt like a freak show. However, she thought, it was all part of it. It's not like she's meant to be roaming around the city, anyways.

A garbage can clanged, rumbling and fumbling, the sound of metal falling to the the floor. Hissing and groaning followed after, kicking and punching sounds hitting her ears. She put her head down and walked faster, ignoring the sounds she had just heard. Then, she stopped.

She couldn't bear to just leave a person alone, especially because she's perfectly qualified to help them out. She's probably going to regret it, and Strange would get angry, but she ignored all of it and turned back around.

Turning to an alley, she spotted a man in a black ski mask kicking, beating a man to a pulp. He was laying on the floor, crippling, bleeding, as another man watched to see if anyone was watching. She slowly stepped back, but took a deep breath, then put her hood on to cover her face.

"What are you doing here?!" The man taunted, but she kept her mouth shut. Running to attack her, she simply moved to the side and grabbed his fist, twisting it.

Suddenly, a white flash of goop shot through the air, pinning the man's arm to the wall with some kind of web like substance. Her head whipped to its source; a man in a red and blue suit, staring right back at her.

"Oh- uh- do you wanna continue this?" She asked, keeping her head down

"N-no, I-it's okay, you were here first" He stuttered. Hazel was taken aback by how young he was, he sounded like a teenager, just like her.

"No, okay, what about you take on him and I on the other guy? Cause he's, like, a slice away from breaking free from your web." She pointed out, the man hurrying up and slicing it away furiously.

"Okay." He jumped down, crawling down the wall and taking on the man.

Hazel was busy with someone else; he came in with a punch, which she expertly caught and twisted his fist, hearing some cracking bones. The man screamed in pain as she put him down and forced his hands behind his back. She pinched on his neck and put him to sleep, the place dead silent.

She flickered her eyes to the floor, careful not to show her face in order to hide her identity. They stood before each other awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

"Who are you?" The man finally asked, tilting his head "and why haven't I seen you?"

"I don't really go out much" she explained, "I was heading home after I get a box of pizza but...I guess I couldn't help it"

"You're a superhero?" He inquired, stepping closer to her "What's your name?"

"I'm not a superhero" she dodged the second question "I was just helping someone out. And I take it you are, based on your costume"

"I-it's not a costume, it's a suit!" He explained "and yeah, yeah, I guess you can say that. Why are you dressed like that?"

"I- it's tradition, and no, I'm not a monk or something" she filled in before he could ask "actually, I have a favour to ask from you"

"What is it?"

"Can you...buy me a pizza from that place? A large cheese one?" She asked shyly "I- it's just that people keep staring at me and...I dunno, I just, I dunno"

"Yeah, okay! Okay, uh wait here."

After a few minutes, the man came back with a box of John's cheese pizza, and handed it to her as she shyly took it.
"Thank you" she said gratefully "here, er..." she dug her hands inside her pocket and handed him a 10 dollar bill

"No, no I-it's okay, it's on me" the man shook his head furiously, alarming Hazel with his kindness, making her smile.

"No, no, really, take it. Please, I insist" she forced

"No, I'm fine, really. It's nothing." He replied, stepping backwards, Hazel stepping nearer to him.

"No, you see, okay- you know what? I'll just..." she leaned into him and looked for a pocket in his suit, causing him to knock her hood down, revealing her face.

His eyes bore into her face; her hair softly falling to it, and well, very startled. There was a silence in the air as Hazel face palmed herself, shaking her head

"He's gonna kill me," she muttered "Uh...here, take it, please."

"Uh-um...y-yeah, o-okay yeah, t-thank you, thanks." He suddenly felt like he lost the ability to speak properly, making him blush underneath his suit "I- uh, w-will you be here? Like, around? Will you be here around- around here? Will I see you around?"

"Yeah? Hazel's lips slowly curved up at sight of him stuttering "well, you saw my face, can I at least get a name?"

"Spider-Man." He replied "I'm Spider-Man. What's your name?"

"I...Wolfe. My last name's Wolfe." She smiled "you can call me that, and I should get back. T-this was fun..."

"Yeah, it was."

"Okay, well, bye Spider-Man, and thank you."

"Okay, bye...Wolfe" he said softly, watching her walk away.

PS: THE STORY IS ALREADY WRITTEN, I JUST WANNA SEE IF PEOPLE WANT ME TO UPLOAD MORE PARTS.