The massive house on Bleecker Street stood out against all other buildings, with its tall white columns against the red-brick facade and a giant circular window that displayed the symbol of the Sanctum Sanctorum.
The tall blue doors creaked open before Peter could ring the doorbell, blowing an icy wind into his and Arya's faces. The whole interior of the lobby of the Sanctum was covered in snow, and as they walked in, they found two people in winter gear shovelling snow into buckets.
Peter rubbed his hands against one another to warm them up while Arya stuck hers under her arms. Peter cleared his throat. "Um, hi," he said to the shovelling people. They stopped in sync and stared right past Arya and Peter as if they didn't see them. "Hi?" Peter repeated questioningly. "I'm-"
A portal appeared on their right, startling both of them. Wong, dressed in a thick winter coat, stepped through while carrying two large suitcases. "Yeah, the two most famous people in the world. I know. Wong. Try not to slip, we don't have liability insurance."
"Is all this for a holiday party or something?" Arya asked as she walked further into the Sanctum.
"No. One of the Gangways connects to Siberia. A blizzard blasted through," Wong explained.
A gush of wind sounded, sending flurries of snow through the air. "Because someone forgot to cast a maintenance spell to keep the seals tight," Doctor Stephen Strange said as he descended from the air, his Cloak of Levitation hugging his shoulders. He was also dressed in a winter coat and held a steaming cup of coffee in his hand that spilt a little when he almost slipped on the icy floor.
"That's right, he did, because I now have higher duties," Wong shot back.
"Higher Duties?" Strange questioned with a tone of offence.
"The Sorcerer Supreme has higher duties, yes," Wong replied calmly.
"Wait, I thought you were the Sorcerer Supreme?" Arya asked Strange.
"No, he got it on a technicality because I blipped for five years," he said with a sarcastic smile.
"Oh, congratulations," Peter offered Wong, who smiled.
Wong stalked over to the two seemingly brainwashed people and ordered them to keep shovelling, so Strange turned to his two visitors. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked them, leading the way to the fireplace.
"Right, um," Peter said before catching himself on Arya's arm as he almost slipped on an icy patch on the ground. "We're really sorry to bother you, sir, but-"
"Please, we saved half the universe together, I think we're beyond you calling me 'sir'." Strange flicked his fingers at the fireplace and it ignited in a warm flame.
"Okay, uh," Peter replied, somewhat uneasy. "Stephen."
"That feels weird but I'll allow it," Strange said.
Peter sighed softly to himself as he looked for the right words. He felt Arya squeeze his hand. He hadn't even noticed grabbing her hand in the first place. "When Mysterio revealed our identities, our entire lives got screwed up and I was wondering- I mean, I don't even know if this would actually work but I was wondering if..." He cut himself off from rambling and took a breath before looking up at Strange. "If you could go back in time and make it so that he never did."
Strange narrowed his eyes for a fraction of a second. "Peter, we tampered with the stability of space-time to resurrect countless lives and you wanna do it again now just 'cause yours got messy?"
"This isn't- It's not just about me. I mean, this is really hurting a lot of people," he said, glancing at Arya. "My aunt May, Happy, my best friends, Arya. Their futures are ruined just because they know me and they've done nothing wrong."
"And neither have you," Arya added.
"I am so sorry but..." Strange started. "Even if I wanted to, I don't have the Time Stone anymore."
Peter lowered his eyes. "That's right," he muttered. He took a second to collect himself. "I'm really sorry if I've wasted your time. Just forget about it, please-"
"Oh, he will," Wong said as he opened another portal. "He's very good at forgetting things."
"Strange held up a finger. "Wong," he said. "You've actually generated a good idea."
"What?" Wong questioned.
"The Runes of Kof-Kol."
"The Runse of Kof-Kol?" Peter and Arya repeated in unison.
"Oh, it's just a standard spell of forgetting. Won't turn back time but at least people will forget that you were ever Spider-Man and Electric Shadow."
"Seriously? That spell travels the dark borders between known and unknown reality. It's too dangerous," Wong immediately said.
Strange sighed. "We've used it for a lot less. Do you remember the full moon party at Kamar Taj?"
"No."
"Exactly." Strange's expression softened. "Come on, Wong. Haven't these kids been through enough already?"
Wong stayed silent for a few seconds before he opened a portal and stepped through. "Just leave me out of this," he said as the portal closed behind him.
A smile played on Strange's lips as he turned to Peter and Arya. "Follow me."
He led the way down a flight of aged brick stairs into what looked like the ruins of an ancient castle.
"Whoa," Arya breathed as she looked around. "What is this place?"
"The Sanctum's built on the intersection of cosmic energy currents. We're not the first to seek 'em out," Strange said as he was working on a piece of rock. He rubbed the pads of his fingers against one another and glowing orange dust fell down. "Some of these walls are thousands of years old. And they shot an episode of The Equalizer here in the 80s."
"Well, I'm- I really appreciate you doing this, sir," Peter said.
"Don't mention it," Strange said as he poured a liquid into the rock, which had started projecting orange rings. A grin appeared as he added, "And don't call me 'sir'."
"Right, sorry," Peter said with a chuckle.
"You two ready?" Strange asked.
"Yeah," Arya said, stepping forward and taking Peter's hand tightly in her own.
"We're ready," Peter said.
"Nice knowing you, Spider-Man and Electric Shadow."
Strange's words didn't immediately register, but when they did, Arya frowned. "Wait, excuse me?"
Strange started the spell and made orange mandelas appear in the palms of his hands. "The entire world is about to forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man and Arya Stark is Electric Shadow. Including me." An orange ring started to form around the three of them.
"Everyone?" Peter rushed forward. "Can't some people still know?"
"That's not how the spell works," Strange said. "And it's very difficult and dangerous to change it mid-casting."
Peter and Arya exchanged looks. "Hang on, will we forget about each other's identities as well?" Arya asked.
"What part of 'the entire world' is unclear here?"
"So we're just gonna forget about everything we've ever been through? I mean, are we even gonna still be together?" Peter asked.
"That depends, are you two together because you're Spider-Man and Electric Shadow?" Strange questioned.
"I mean, I don't know, I really hope not," Peter rambled.
"All right, fine," Strange waved his hands and the orange ring around them faded and fell down. "Everyone in the world, except the two of you, will forget that you're superheroes."
"Thank you so much, that-" Peter's eyes widened with realisation. He looked at Arya. "May and Pepper."
Strange sighed with frustration and started the spell over again.
"Oh, my God. Ned, Skye and MJ," Arya said.
"Who are they?" Strange asked with clear annoyance.
"They're our best friends. It's really important that they know," Peter answered.
"Okay, let's not change the parameters of this spell anymore while I'm casting," Strange said.
"Okay, okay, we're done," Peter said, gripping Arya's hand again as the orange circle formed around them.
"Happy?" Arya asked.
"No, I'm annoyed."
"No, it's a nickname. Harold 'Happy' Hogan. He used to work with my dad so he's really important to me and I don't know what would happen if he didn't-"
Arya's sentence was cut off as Strange's spell exploded, throwing the three of them into the air, except they didn't come back down right away. They hovered midair as the orange rings sliced around them, tearing through the ground, walls and ceiling until they were surrounded by some kind of purple cosmos.
Strange let out an aggravated yell before he locked the orange rings in a small, transparent hexagonal prism. The rings glowed brightly as they bounced around inside.
"Did it work?" Peter asked.
"No," Strange grumbled. "You changed my spell five times."
"Four times," Peter muttered.
"You changed my spell. You don't do that! I told you and that is why!" Strange jotted a finger at the contained spell. "That spell was completely out of control and if I hadn't shut it down, something catastrophic could have happened."
"Stephen, I am so sorry-"
"Call me 'sir'."
Peter took a step back and lowered his gaze. "I'm sorry, sir."
Strange sighed. "You know, after everything we've been through together, I somehow forget that you're still kids. Look, Parker, the problem is not Mystery. It's you, trying to live two different lives and the longer you do that, the more dangerous it becomes. I'm sorry about you and your friends not getting into college but if they rejected you and you tried to convince them to reconsider, there is nothing else you can do."
Peter shifted in his spot. "When you say convince them, you mean I could have called them?"
"Yeah," Strange answered before frowning. "You haven't called..."
"I mean, we got their letters and assumed that that was-"
"I'm sorry?" Strange said, stepping up to them. "Are you telling me that you didn't even think to plead your case with them first before you asked me to brainwash the entire world?"
"Well, I mean, when you put it like that-"
Before Peter had finished his sentence, Strange had snapped his fingers and Peter and Arya found themselves outside the Sanctum Sanctorum, the blue doors slamming behind them.
Sorry that I didn't post anything for a little while. Things have been very busy these past few weeks but I'm going to do my best to get at least one new chapter up every week!
Thank you for reading and please let me know what you think!