THIS CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR SPIDERMAN: NO WAY HOME!
DO NOT READ THIS FIC IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED THE MOVIE!
SERIOUSLY! DO NOT DEPRIVE YOURSELF BY SPOILING THE MOVIE FOR YOURSELF
It's honestly my new favourite MCU movie, so I really am serious when I say that anyone who hasn't watched it should do so ASAP, and then come back and read this.
For those that have seen it, enjoy!
Steven frowned as he looked in the mirror.
Something was missing. A good chunk of time that was just… skipped over in his head, a complete blackout. He was startled as his Cloak of Levitation wrapped itself around his shoulders, pulling him out of his room and into the foyer of the Sanctum Sanctorum.
"Thank you."
The cloak, understandably, didn't respond to his thanks, but having had it for so long now, and knowing that it had a measure of sentience, had endeavoured to try and treat it less like a tool and more like an ally, or a friend.
A friend.
That… something about that resonated with him. It was weird, he knew that he had debated with Spiderman about the exact wording of a spell on top of the Statue of Liberty, but he couldn't remember much else about that day, or even how he got there.
All he could remember was… waking up and helping Wong deal with the sudden blizzard that had swept through the Sanctum, then hearing the front door opening and… that was it. Then he was standing on top of the Statue of Liberty, with Spiderman urging him to cast a spell.
Why hadn't he been worried, then? He knew that he was good but good enough to put aside such a major blank and complete a complicated spell to essentially reverse the damage to the multiverse, caused by an errant spell? No one was that good.
That left him with only a few options. Either the blackout was artificial, and he was under attack by something, or someone, who could mess with his head, or… or he did it to himself. He was familiar with many a spell that trespassed into the domain of 'Mind Control', many of which were absolutely forbidden, or too costly to the caster to be worth it.
But where control over the mind was costly and dangerous, there was a decidedly easier spell. The Runes of Kauf-Kaul was a memory-erasing spell on a universal scale, and if he hadn't made himself exempt, it would explain why he couldn't remember… something.
He directed the Cloak of Levitation to fly towards the Ingredients Chamber of the Sanctum, weaving in and out of the other Masters of the Mystic Arts flitted about the hallways, cleaning and repairing it.
He had a hunch about what he would find when he got there.
There it was.
Dr Steven Strange
1 Amethyst, sourced from below sea level
Horn of Distilled Water
3 cloves of Garlic, treated with rhinoceros blood
His own name on the Spell Component sign-out sheet, with materials that made casting the Runes of Kauf-Kaul a lot easier, and much less stressful. It proved that he was right and that he had used the spell to change something, but now the question was…
What had he changed?
He considered his options for a moment. He could tell Wong that he had apparently used the spell, and they could work together to figure out why, or even to reverse it. But if it had left such a significant impact on him, then Steven trusted his past self, knowing that whatever had been erased, had been erased for good reason.
The other option would be easier, anyway.
Holding his hands up, he pointed to fingers forward and moved his other hand in a perfect circle, a line of pure magic appearing in the air ahead of him, the ends connecting and stabilising into a circle.
"Spiderman."
The portal roared to life and Steven was pulled out of the way suddenly as a red-and-blue blur shot out of the portal towards him very suddenly. Spiderman was as quick as ever, though, and Steven had to admit he was impressed as the superhero tucked and rolled, landing on his feet.
Spiderman immediately spun around to face him, and then froze up, his shoulders rising. Steven frowned, recognising that Spiderman was, for some reason, nervous about being here.
"Uh, Dr Supreme! I mean Sorceror Strange! Ah dangit… hello, Sir."
Steven's eyebrow raised as he looked the hero up and down. The suit was… different, to when he had last seen it. It wasn't Stark-tech anymore, that was for sure. "Is that spandex?"
Spiderman jolted a little, his mask's eyes narrowing as he looked down at himself, patting at his suit. He looked back up at Steven. "Uh, yes? It's fairly cheap and easy to make a suit out of…"
Steven hummed. "I don't see why you would ever downgrade from that suit Tony gave you, really. Why the sudden change to low-budget cosplay?"
Spiderman rose up a little, his chest puffing out as he crossed his arms. "Is there something wrong with the suit? I did make it myself, you know."
Steven saw that he had apparently struck a nerve, and raised his hands in surrender. "Apologies, this isn't what I wanted you for. Also sorry about the sudden kidnapping."
Spiderman coughed, his hands falling on his hips. "I've always thought kidnapping was a stupid word, I am most definitely an adult, and I am not napping."
Steven shook his head, sighing. "Anyway. I've discovered that a few days ago, I used a spell called the 'Runes of Kauf-Kaul' to erase the memories about something from everyone in the entire world."
He could tell he had Spiderman's full focus as the white eyes of his suit narrowed on him again. "That's… wow? Wow. Thats pretty, uh, crazy, Sir. What did you need my help with?"
Steven hummed. "Well, you were there, trying to get me to cast a spell, according to my memory. What exactly do you remember about the night on the Statue of Liberty?"
Spiderman paused for a moment. And then another moment. And then he was silent for long enough for it to become awkward. Eventually, he squeaked out a 'nothing?'
Steven sighed deeply, nodding his head. "I see, so, from what I gather, you needed me to use the Runes of Kauf-Kaul to erase something. I… don't want details, if you're uncomfortable sharing them, I just need to know if this is going to cause anything that I should be careful of. It's hard to prepare when you have no memory about what you're preparing for."
Spiderman sagged slightly, a relieved sigh leaving him, further confirming Steven's hunch that Spiderman had asked him to erase something. Eventually, Spiderman raised his head, and answered the question.
"No, Sir. There's nothing you need to worry about now, at least nothing I know of. We fixed everything."
Steven frowned. He trusted Spiderman, anyone willing to fight alongside them against Thanos was worthy of his respect, but even though he didn't know him that well, he could tell from the tone of his voice that he was hurting something fierce.
He didn't push it, though, merely nodding. "That's good to know. Thank you, Spiderman, you've eased some of my anxieties. Would you like me to make a portal for you, back to where you were?"
Spiderman coughed, seemingly composing themselves, before shaking his head. "Uh, the Sanctum is in New York, right? Could you portal me to, uh, Brooklyn? Near the Brooklyn Bridge, please. I was on my way there."
Steven summoned a portal that lead directly to the top of it, waving his hand towards it. "There you are, sorry for interrupting you."
Spiderman just waved him off, walking towards the portal. He paused right in front of it though, turning around after a moment. "Hey, uh, Steven?"
Steven raised his eyebrow at the sudden familiarity Spiderman addressed him with. "Yes?"
Spiderman nodded slowly, exactly once. "Thank you for everything, Sir."
Then he jumped through the portal, the orange ring-closing behind him. Steven was stunned for a moment at just how sincere Spiderman had seemed at that moment, even with the pain in his voice.
Steven was suddenly very sure that whatever he had erased with the Runes of Kauf-Kaul of been very important indeed.