Chapter Text
Peter looked up to Strange, determination filling his beat body. He looked at the desecrating sky falling apart, knowing that he would do anything to save what remained of his fractured family. Peter thought of MJ and Ned, wishing them goodbye in the face of what he was about to do.
With one final glance to the destruction he caused, Peter pleaded his decision to the man holding his fate who stood in front of him, “So cast a new spell. But this time makes everyone forget who Peter Parker is.”
Strange’s eyes winded in understanding, “That would mean that everyone who knows and loves you, we….It would be as though you never existed."
“I know, but it would work right?”
“It…wouldn’t be enough, your very presence in the universe dooms the multiverse and continues the breaks in the fracture of our reality. The only way to fix it would be to remove you completely from the foundation of our universe.”
“I don’t care what you have to do, I'm ready Mr strange. I've already lost so much, I can’t be the reason for the death of everyone in the entire universe. It would put the sacrifices of so many lost heroes to waste and that would break me more than a fractured reality could.”
Strange felt through every crevice of his memory for a solution until he finally found one, maybe not a great one, but one that kept everyone alive for the moment. “I could send you away, somewhere far from our known multiverse. It wouldn't be safe…I have never tested it out on a real person but it might work. Although, you have to know that you’d be stranded, no one you know could ever reach you again.”
“ Well to be honest I didn’t even think I'd survive today at all so this is kinda an upgrade. Just can you erase my memory from the world anyway? I don’t want my ‘death’ or extraction from this world bringing anyone down ya know? Better for my friends to forget I existed to it's easier to move on.”
“If that's what you really want, yes, I can. We don’t have time for goodbyes, I'm sorry Pete. I'm going to open a portal for you, it will stay open for a few minutes but I will guard it from unwanted travelers. Use this chance for a better life Pete, I truly wish you the best and I had hoped things could have turned out better.”
“Thanks Mr Strange,” Peter replied, exhausting and tears lacing his words. He had wanted to say goodbye to the only surviving people in his life but Peter luck had to strike one last time he supposed. As he waited for Mr Strange to perform his strange magic, pun intended, he brought his hand to his ear, “Karen, are you still there?”
Karen replied in the familiar robotic voice, "yes Peter. Suit is at 60% and I've detected three broken bones and a concussion. Healing time with sufficient rest and food will be about five days. Once we arrive in the new environment I insist you locate advocate shelter and resources for the beginning of a new life. "
“Im glad to have one friend going with me,” Peter sighed.
Stange placed a hand on Peter's shoulder, causing him to outwardly flinch in a very non superhero way. Could you blame him though, he was going through quite a lot at the moment. “The portal is ready Pete. I hope you find a resemblance of happiness, you deserve it more than anyone.” Even though his monotone voice Peter could detect a slight sadness he hadn’t seen in the man before. With one final pathetic smile he turned away and faced towards the glowing orange portal.
Although he could barely see though the foggy orange ish yellow portal, what made it to his sight was what was probably the dingiest looking alleyway Peter had ever seen. Well, not a great introduction to his new life but what did he expect really?
“To infinity and beyond” Peter whispered his could be last words as he walked through and prayed one last time to a god that definitely had forgotten about him.
…
“Two more minutes,” Strange muttered to himself as he awaited the closing of the portal. He teetered on the idea of ignoring Peter's final plea of letting his loved ones forget about him, but eventually decided that the kid should probably have control over one part of his doomed fate. Just as he began the first words of the cursed spell that started this mess, the screaming of two slightly traumatized and bloody teanagers grated his ears. The screaming most notably came from one Michelle Jones, or better known as Mj. He rolled his eyes as he watched his own cape on the back of the short chubby boy, Ned, lifting him through the air to where he stood. Mj was holding on for deer life on his back, the most dangerous piggy back ride known to man.
“You witch, bring Peter back right now! We saw you make him walk the plank through that mysterious circular orb, call him back or something,” she yelled. Blood dripping down her shirt, tears welling in her eyes.
“Im sorry, but his existence dooms the entire multiverse, I've sent him away to where he can’t harm anyone.” Strange didn’t feel the need to add that in a few moments they would forget his existence anyway, that was if he could shoo them safely away so he could perform the spell without distraction this time.
“Peter doesn’t harm anyone,” Ned retorted, “There has to be another way.” The poor boy looked moments away from full blown sobbing, a little much for his age but appropriate for the situation.
A spark lit in Mj’s eyes and she glanced at the still bright portal before facing back towards the wizard. “If he can’t come back, let us go with him.”
Strange laughed at the absurdity of her confidence, the innocence of children he thought. “Do you really want to do that to your family's kid? We both know Peter wouldn’t want you to. And it doesn’t even matter, I'm not letting you travel dimensions because you miss your high school boyfriend of less than a year.” Sure he felt bad at the bluntness of his words, but someone had to knock sense into an overconfident teen, and who was better for the job than an overconfident adult.
To her credit, Mj barely reacted to his words, only turning her head slightly to whisper in Ned’s ear. He glanced up to her with a look that questioned if she was positive on what they were about to do.
“Listen old wizard or whatever you said your name was, Stewy? I'm not sure, but it doesn’t matter. To be honest I'm pretty awful at listening to what others have to say and I especially don’t care what Peter has to say when it comes to my or Ned’s safety. If he could, he would have us in little boxes with bows to keep us safe and protected all the time. Oh, and another high point about me…I'm impeccable at the art of surprise.”
Before Strange could register what Mj was saying, she pulled off her hoodie and flung it at his head. In the same moment Ned unclasped the cloak from his shoulder and he and Mj jumped together though the fading portal.
Three seconds later it closed and Strange was left behind in a world with three less teenagers, a chunk of his dignity destroyed, and a faded grey MIT hoodie.