Chapter Text
Doctor Strange stared at Peter. “They’ve come here, because you’re here, Parker.” He said, his face grim.
A thousand thoughts raised through Peter’s head. A single one, like a dash of quicksilver in a storm, catches his attention. Peter thinks. He knows what he has to do.
Peter stared back at Dr Strange. “What if I wasn’t here?” he asked. Dr Strange stood stunned for a moment, before blinking and waving a hand, saying “No, no It’s too dangerous.”
“But it would work,” said Peter. “It’s my fault that they’re here, let me stop them.”
“No!” Dr Strange said with a growl, but Peter could see. He knew it was what they needed to do. They both did. He looked into Peter’s eyes. And gave a small, hesitant, nod. “It can be done.” He said, his voice low, and sad. “You will be sent to another dimension, one that doesn’t have you or Spider-man in it. Probably won’t have anyone you recognise in it.”
Peter nodded in return. It sounded awful, but thats what he had to do. He shuffled awkwardly. “Can I have a few minutes? To… to say goodbye?”
Dr Strange nodded, before he began muttering under his breath and casting spells. Before Peter jumped off the building to where MJ and Ned were down below, Dr Strange grabbed him by the shoulder. “Peter…” He said. “I need to cast another spell in addition to the one that will send you away. I need to make everyone forget.”
“Forget?”
“Forget you. Forget you ever existed. I will remove you entirely.” He said. “I’m sorry.”
Peter stood for a moment. Then, gave him a small smile. “At least you won’t miss me too much, right Dr Strange?”
Dr Strange had a pained look on his face, and Peter knew he didn’t have much time. He turned to jump again, but was stopped when Dr Strange said, “Call me Stephen.”
“Thank you Stephen.”
“Yeah, it still feels weird.”
Peter swung down to where Ned and Mj waited for him. After everyone checked everyone, to make sure they were all safe and (mostly) uninjured, Mj turned to Peter. “What’s wrong Peter?” She asked. Peter sighed. She always saw right through him.
Peter looked them both in the eyes, tears forming in his own. “So. You guys can see the huge tear in the sky right?”
They both nodded, apprehensively. Peter gave them a small smile. “We have a plan to fix it. But… you guys might not see me for a while.”
The silence was deafening. From his two friends, that is. Peter could hear things, the weird sounds of the tears in reality, the crackling of fire, the sound of metal and rubble settling. It was all muted and dull.
He looked at them. They looked at him.
He told them how he had to leave. To another universe.
He told them they would forget him.
He hated it, but it had to be done.
They knew that.
So why was it so hard?
As Peter embraced his best friends for the last time, he said to them, “No matter how far apart we are, I won’t forget you.”
They both nodded, and said the same. Then, Peter swung to the top of the tower.
Dr Strange muttered the final words of his spell, and looked at Peter. Peter nodded.
There was a bright flash, a quick, intense pain - as if he were being taken apart and put back together - disturbingly like the blip.
Peter blacked out on Liberty’s crown.
Peter woke up in an empty warehouse.