[New York City. The Sanctum Sanctorum. November.]
The Sanctum was freezing. The heating was broken, and the entire foyer was covered in snow.
Doctor Stephen Strange floated in the center of the room, wearing a sweatshirt over his robes. Wong was packing a bag for Kamar-Taj.
And Sebastian Michaelis was shoveling snow.
"I am a demon of the highest order," Sebastian muttered, tossing a shovel-load of snow into a portal leading to Siberia. "I have devoured kings. I have strangled gods. And yet, here I am... the janitor."
"You're crashing on my couch," Strange reminded him, floating down. "Rent is due. Shovel the snow."
"I do not sleep," Sebastian countered. "Therefore, I do not use the couch. I merely... observe it."
Sebastian had been staying at the Sanctum for months. It was the only place in New York where a demon didn't draw attention. Plus, the magical ambient energy kept his hunger at bay without needing to eat souls. It was a symbiotic, if bickering, relationship.
[The Doorbell]
Ding-Dong.
"We don't have a doorbell," Wong frowned.
"I installed one," Sebastian dusted off his hands. "It is uncivilized to shout."
Strange opened the door.
Peter Parker stood there. He looked terrible. Pale, shaking, and desperate.
"Sir?" Peter asked. "I... I need a favor."
[The Request]
They gathered in the living room (which Sebastian had quickly de-iced). Peter explained his life. Mysterio. The identity reveal. The college rejections. MJ and Ned suffering because of him.
"I just want them to forget," Peter pleaded. "Like it never happened. Can't you just... Cast a spell? Make the world forget Peter Parker is Spider-Man?"
"No," Wong said immediately. "Too dangerous. The Runes of Kof-Kol borders on the dark arts."
"Fine," Strange sighed. "I won't do it."
Wong nodded and stepped through a portal. "I'm leaving. Leave the kid out of this, Stephen."
As soon as the portal closed, Strange winked at Peter. "Meet me in the basement."
Sebastian stepped out of the shadows.
"This is a mistake," Sebastian warned. "Memory is a fragile thread, Doctor. Pull one loose, and the sweater unravels."
"I'm the Sorcerer Supreme," Strange scoffed (ignoring that he lost the title on technicality). "I can handle a simple forgetting spell. You coming, Butler? Or are you afraid of a little rune magic?"
Sebastian narrowed his eyes. "I shall supervise. Someone must be there to sweep up the pieces."
[The Spell]
The Undercroft was dark. Strange lit the cauldron. The orange bands of magic began to swirl.
"Okay," Strange chanted. "Everyone in the world will forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man."
"Wait!" Peter interrupted. "Not MJ! She should know!"
Strange frowned. The runes wobbled. "Fine. Everyone except MJ."
"And Ned!" Peter added. "And Aunt May!"
"Stop talking," Strange warned. The orange rings began to fracture.
"And Mr. Happy!" Peter continued. "And... oh! Does Sebastian count? He should know!"
"Peter!" Strange yelled. "You're breaking the containment!"
Sebastian watched from the corner. He saw the purple cracks forming in the orange magic. The Multiverse was bleeding in.
"Doctor!" Sebastian yelled. "Contain it!"
Strange struggled. The spell flared violently.
BOOM.
A shockwave rattled the Sanctum. The spell collapsed into a contained orb.
"What did you do?" Strange looked at Peter, furious. "You changed the parameters five times while I was casting!"
"I'm sorry!" Peter stammered.
"Get out," Strange ordered. "Go. Before I turn you into a ferret."
Peter ran.
Sebastian looked at the orb in Strange's hand. It swirled with chaotic, purple energy.
"That felt... incorrect," Sebastian noted.
"It's contained," Strange insisted, looking worried. "It's fine. Go check on the kid. Make sure he doesn't do anything else stupid."
[The Alexander Hamilton Bridge. Afternoon.]
Peter was trying to plead his case to the MIT Vice Chancellor, who was stuck in traffic on the bridge.
Sebastian sat perched on top of a suspension cable, hundreds of feet in the air. He was watching. Babysitting.
Suddenly, his senses spiked.
Danger.
Not magical danger. Mechanical danger.
He smelled oil. Fusion energy. And... dead man's sweat.
Cars began to explode.
A massive mechanical tentacle smashed through the concrete deck of the bridge.
"HELLO, PETER."
A man rose from the smoke. Dr. Otto Octavius (Doc Ock). He wore a trench coat and sunglasses, and four metal tentacles writhed from his back.
Peter (in the Iron Spider suit) landed on a car. "Do I know you?"
"What have you done with my machine?" Ock roared. He grabbed a car and threw it.
Peter caught the car. "I don't know what you're talking about!"
Ock lunged. A tentacle grabbed Peter by the throat.
Sebastian moved.
He dove from the cable. He didn't use a web. He fell like a stone, accelerating into a terminal velocity dive.
Just as the tentacle tightened around Peter's neck, Sebastian landed.
He landed on the tentacle.
CLANG.
The metal arm buckled under the impact. Sebastian stood on the robotic limb, balancing perfectly.
"Excuse me," Sebastian said, straightening his tie. "But I believe the young man asked you a question."
Doc Ock stared at the man standing on his arm. "Who are you?"
"I am the chaperone," Sebastian smiled.
He kicked the tentacle. Hard.
The force was enough to knock Doc Ock backward.
"You have a lot of arms," Sebastian noted, drawing two silver knives. "But you lack manners."
Doc Ock's AI sensors scanned Sebastian.
[THREAT DETECTED. NON-HUMAN BIOLOGY.]
"Interesting," Ock grinned. The other three tentacles snapped forward. "Let's see what you're made of."
[The Fight]
It was chaos.
Spider-Man swung to save civilians. Sebastian fought the Octopus.
A tentacle swung for Sebastian's head. Sebastian ducked, slashing the hydraulic line with his knife. Oil sprayed.
"Gah! My actuator!" Ock yelled.
Another tentacle grabbed Sebastian by the waist. It squeezed.
"I got you!" Ock crushed him.
But Sebastian didn't pop. He grabbed the tentacle with his bare hands and pried the claws open.
"I have been squeezed by bigger things than you, Doctor," Sebastian snarled.
He flipped out of the grip, landing on the hood of a car.
"Peter!" Sebastian yelled. "His arms! They are controlling him! Aim for the inhibitor chip on the neck!"
"How do you know that?!" Peter yelled, dodging a car.
"He talks to them!" Sebastian pointed. "Listen to him! He is arguing with his own backpack!"
Just then, the Green Goblin's pumpkin bomb rolled onto the bridge.
Click. Click. Click.
[End of Chapter 59]
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