prankster in bleecker st.
It was a grey day in New York. The previous night the city had been met with dismal rain, lightning and thunder, and now in the evening of the next day, the only evidence remaining of the sky's tantrum, were the dark clouds that tainted the 3pm sky and the melancholic smell of wet pavement and dripping bushes.
For some reason, somewhere in Manhattan, someone felt the atmospheric conditions were just perfect to harvest chaos.
"This" the woman points to the ground as she speaks "this is exactly what you've all been working for since the moment you set foot in this place, which you now call home" she states, with only determination in her eyes as she looks at the group of young adults gathered in a circle around her "for this, my students, is the chance of a lifetime, to make me proud and prove that you have what it takes!"
The woman led the group down the long hall until they halted in front of a big door
"Behind this old oak door lies, probably, the most daring challenge you have and will ever encounter" she pauses, her grey eyes meeting each with everyone else's. "No slip ups will be accepted, go!" She opens the door and hurries everyone inside.
They move swiftly and as if they really had prepared for this their whole lives, it was done with such synchronisation it almost made the woman tear up at the harmony in which her students proceeded. She didn't let her post falter as door keeper, she knew that one false move and the operation would fall apart, she worked too hard for that to happen.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Success.
The group of mentees and the woman regrouped once again in the training grounds, everyone reveling in their triumphant scheme.
Okay, maybe they jinxed it.
"CORALINA FRANCIS" came from the entrance of the outdoor training base, the deep voice everyone knew all too well
The voice of absolute control on those grounds, and the voice that only spoke a threat to the group who was a mere second ago congratulating each other.
But that particular scolding yell was specially directed towards the woman behind the whole fiasco, the one in the most trouble out of the group of young students.
"Oh shit" she muttered to herself at the sight of the fluttering cloak, "okay people, off you go, practice those orange circles" she whispers a command to the group, then rapidly walks towards the angry man at the door.
"Did you like the class's present?" She asks once she reaches the man as she gives him a wide smile full of fake innocence, burshing invisible dust off of his shoulders
"Yes, i thoroughly enjoyed coming back from a meeting with the most obnoxious man i've ever known, just to find my office covered in fluorescent green post-it notes, hilarious, really, professor" the man looked really exhausted, and the little prank seemed to only test his patience on that day; then again, that's normally the only reaction Cora ever got when messing with the sorcerer, and she didn't really care.
"Did you catch the spell that forces you to take the notes by hand, one-by-one, without aid of any sort of magic whatsoever?" she asked him with amusement in her eyes and voice, ignoring completely the glare of the man towering her.
The doctor kept glaring at her for a good minute, until he gave up and rolled his eyes before asking the question he always asked when he found himself in these godawful familiar situations "Why do I even put up with you?"
"Because i'm a hoot" she says very seriously, her hand then is briefly surrounded by a lilac gleam that reveals a tray and hands it to him. "And also, because who else would bake you cinnamon rolls after strenuous meetings with Stark?" she smiles playfully as Strange's eyes widen and his frown is replaced by childish excitement.
"Yeah, you're right" he sighs, immediately going for one of the baked goods. "Don't think you're getting out of this though" he warns, though it sounded all muffled by his mouth full of the cinnamon good, "you're coming with me and you're not leaving until you help me get rid of all the post-its you and your devilish students put in my office" he says, waving the roll at the woman.
She starts to jog away from her friend and yells over her shoulder "Sorry Stephen no can do, i have to teach the youngsters real magic and not those silly little portals you make them do"
"Hey! Those things are useful!" he yells back
"I know they are, but they've already mastered it, this is not karate kid, they have to learn other stuff!" Cora yells once again, she pauses for a second and adds before turning her attention to the class "When you finish with your office order some chinese for the two of us and put it on my tab, ask Wong if he wants some too" he gives her a thumbs-up and lets her alone to properly begin the lesson.
"Okay, so, for the first part of the class, I want you all to tell me different types of shields you've been taught by Doctor Strange so far, and how to cast them not only on yourselves but on people or stuff around you as well, internal and external shielding is what you..."
- - -
"So, what put you in such a bad mood, mister doctor?" asked Cora.
It was the middle of the night and Stephen, Wong and Cora were currently hanging out in Wong's office, as they always did when they were too invigorated to get some decent sleep.
Cora couldn't sleep because she had taken a three-hour nap after draining herself bringing back a dumbass rookie who stabbed himself in the chest trying to conjure up a dagger.
Strange had only now finished dealing with the mess in his office, and apparently taking 6 cups of coffee to give him more energy did just that, now he couldn't stay seated in the same place for more than 5 seconds, let alone go to sleep.
Wong was sleeping like a healthy human being should, until the two magic beings dragged him out of bed for midnight snacks and catching up.
"He is always a little bitch when it comes to Stark, Francis, you know this already" said the librarian sitting cross-legged as the other man scoffed.
"Well, i've said it before and i'll say it a thousand times again: they need to bone" said Cora casually, putting some leftover chinese noodles in her mouth, while the doctor choked on his drink and started blurting out denials.
"Wh-What HEY no, never, ew, no, just- ugh, no!"
"She's right" the librarian shrugged. "Either way, what did he do this time?" asked Wong trying to stop his friend from exploding at the words his other friend had said.
"Yeah, what did your boyfriend do this time?" said Cora before being smacked in the head by an orange wisp that had Wong's name written all over it.
"Shut up, Cora'' warned the doctor.
Then he started telling the other two about how he was called in because they needed a tracking spell for a former SHIELD agent who went rogue and was threatening to reveal secrets of the agency to the world. He went on to say - complain about - how Tony was mocking him nonstop - as usual - and trying to take off his cloak - as usual - and whined like a little baby when the cape swatted his prying hands away - as usual -
"AND when I was finally done with the dreadful spell, he didn't even say thank you, can you believe him? Just a fucking pat in the back and off he went to refill his glass, which he had already done like seven times in the few hours i was there, not even a goodbye, such an ass" honestly, that's what he seemed the most irritated about, and Cora had no problem pointing it out
"Poor little Stephen, the billionaire with daddy issues didn't thank him, Wong, can you believe that asshole?" she cooed mockingly as she patted the sad doctor's head
"You suck" said the pouting man-child, before sighing, "I guess, I mean, you guys know how difficult a tracking spell can be when only given a fucking picture, like, c'mon, not even a strand of hair?"
Cora opens her mouth to correct him but he beats her to it "yeah, yeah, I know Cora 'i can do it easily blablabla', but that's because you're stupidly overpowered" he dismissed
"Comes with being a deity, my dear boys" she tells them sweetly. They laugh and keep talking until they fall asleep sprawled around the office of the bookkeeper.
Oh, yeah, I think it would be appropriate to explain just who the hell Coralina Francis is, right? Well, for starters, Francis isn't her last name, it's actually her middle name. She is around 1700 years old, or like 33 years in midgardian years, the ageing system for her people is weird, somewhat similar to that of asgardians, but not quite.
Not a goddess but she was given the gift of necromancy, healing, and also had the opportunity of being taught Asgardian magic from the early age of 10.
She's been in Bleecker 177A for two years now, helping the boys keep the sanctum afloat, plus getting some much needed peace and quiet.
I would tell you more, like what her last name actually is, or her lineage but, where's the fun in that?
- - -
The three friends were awoken by the blaring of a very peculiar alarm, the one that notified Strange and Wong were needed by the Avengers in battle.
"Ugh, I have to see the asshole two days in a row?" moaned a sleepy Strange
"Yeah man, focus on that, not on how Earth is probably being attacked, but on your enemies to lovers shit" mumbles Wong from his bean bag chair, and soon the men start bickering until a third voice makes its appearance
"This is so unfair, why do i never get called in on these things, with me on board I could literally snap my fingers and the enemy would be turned to dust" Cora complains from the bed she had magicked up last night, for a millisecond stealing a glance towards the wall behind her, somehow making eye contact with the reader.
"Maybe, because they don't know you exist"
"Then maybe they should" she quips angrily
"Not today, if we need reinforcements we'll call, I promise" says Stephen as he walks to where she was now standing to give her a hug
Wong did the same and then they left, just like they did every time 'Earth's mightiest heroes' requested the help of kamar-taj's best sorcerers (that they knew of)
"Always the same 'we'll call, we'll call, don't worry', fucking dumbasses" Cora mutters to herself as she makes her way to the kitchen "Some day, one of them will get super hurt and i won't be able to get to them on time, i'll fucking kill them if they die like that, then they'll be like 'oh no, I wish we had brought Cora along, she would've saved the day' hell yeah I would have, but you were too big of pussies to realise, they don't know i exist my ass, they should, i'm great" she kept thinking aloud, piping up her voice when doing imitations, while she prepared her tea, the few students that passed not even looking at her weirdly, since it had become some sort of habit
- - -
"What the fuck do you fucking mean by 'he's in a fucking coma', Wong?"