Michelle "MJ" Jones

I was sitting on the sofa with my mom and dad, watching a movie on TV. It was Madeline, to be exact. It wasn't my normal thing – it was a lot more upbeat than my usual movies. I thought I was going to hate it since my mom and dad wanted so badly for me to watch it with them. But, it wasn't so bad. The thing was, though, I was still carrying a bit of resentment towards my parents. They were going through a healing process. I got that. I just wished they realized that I should have been a part of it. I wanted to say something, but I was afraid that, if I did, I'd end up screwing things up. So, I sat there, partially enjoying the movie while trying not to boil over.

Unfortunately, that was when we got a breaking news report.

It was a short press conference. Within the shot of the camera angle, I saw the backs of Peter and Betty. I almost smiled. As much as I wanted Peter to quit the Daily Bugle – because, honestly, he's on retainer for Stark Industries, so he didn't even need the job anymore – seeing him on TV from time to time and going with him to events I wouldn't normally have access to was a perk. But, the urge to smile went out the window. Sergei or Kraven or What'sHisFace was at the podium. I listened to his speech. I closed my eyes and took a breath.

It always lead back to Stark, I thought to myself.

The press conference didn't last long. Once it was over, I was wondering how Peter was taking this. I knew for a fact that he wanted to fight Kraven right there and then. I almost wished he did. I was taken out of my thoughts when my father spoke up.

"Well, maybe he can be the one to finally take down Spider-Man," he said. The tone of optimism did not go unnoticed by me. I squeezed the right side of my tongue with my molars.

"Michael," my mom said in warning as she glared at him.

"Look Sandra, I don't trust the guy. The guy wears a mask all the time and no one knows his name, so he's obviously hiding his identity while we know the names of every single hero based in New York. He's violating The Accords. The X-Men he rolls with are rather questionable. Plus, I find it more than a little suspicious that a guy who's apparently good enough to be an Avenger is still in New York, doing stuff like helping cats out of a tree… It's like he's trying so hard to make himself seem like one of us. And when you consider the Mysterio situation…"

"I get all of that, I really do, but I think you're forgetting that Spider-Man has saved our daughter's life two times – "

"Three times," I corrected. I didn't even try to hide how annoyed I felt. I was frustrated about the fact that my dad was disrespecting Peter and even more upset that I couldn't defend him as much as I really wanted to.

My mom looked at me. "Regardless how many times it has happened, it happened." She looked back at my dad. "So, as much as you dislike Spider-Man, if it wasn't for him, Michelle would probably be dead. I have my questions about Spider-Man, too, but at the very least, he deserves the benefit of the doubt."

I stood up. "I got a phone call to make," I said. I turned away and walked to my room. From behind me, I heard my mom sarcastically telling my dad "good job". While I probably would have gone to my room regardless, I really needed to make a phone call and check on Peter. So, when I walked into my room, I closed the door and locked it. I walked over to my phone and picked it up before I called The Loser. A few moments later, he picked up.

"Hello?" he greeted.

"Hey Loser," I greeted back as I sat down on my bed. "Still at the press conference?"

"No. Betty and I are riding with Kitty." He paused for a moment. "They say hi. But yeah, we're actually going to have dinner at The Apartment."

"Oh really? What's the occasion?"

"Well, in preparing for college, I forgot one important step."

"And that is?"

"The SAT."

My eyes went wide. "You didn't take the SAT?"

"I did. But you know…"

I sighed. Of course, he was talking about The Spell. "Oh yeah, that."

"Yup, there's nothing like getting shafted from beyond the grave. Though, it turns out Carmilla hasn't taken the SAT either. So, we're going register to take it in May. Betty even suggested a study group that we can all be a part of."

I smiled. "I'd like that." I grimaced. "But does that mean we have to watch Star Wars every time we get together?"

"We don't have to watch Star Wars every night. Since it'd be seven of us, we'd all have a say. Besides, don't act like you don't like Star Wars. We've had discussions about it, after all."

I scoffed. "Peter, I am shocked and hurt by these allegations!"

"MJ."

"Yes Peter?"

"You're full of it!"

"Yeah, yeah." I smiled. My smile faded. "Hey… how are you holding up?"

"I'm… annoyed… frustrated… I'm just…"

"Take your time," I encouraged. "Use your words."

"It's like everything goes back to Stark," Peter said. I could hear it in his voice – he was fed up. "Like… I get it. He has made some questionable choices in his life before he became Iron Man. He never hid that fact. But he'd dead. He died protecting this whole entire universe after doing his part to undo The Snap. Why can't people just let their beef with him go? Why do I have to be used as a stand-in for Tony so they can get their pounds of flesh?"

I frowned. "There are people out there who are so motivated by revenge that they're willing to go to ridiculous lengths to get it. It doesn't matter if it makes sense or not. They'll do anything to get it. And more often than not, they're willing to destroy themselves to do so. It's bullshit, I know, but sometimes, there are just no reasoning with people." I paused. "I'm sorry. This isn't helping, is it?"

"You're fine, MJ. Sometimes some perspective is needed. Still, it sucks."

"Yeah, it does." I then smiled. "Hey, want to do a rooftop date this weekend? It'll help you clear your head, I think."

"I'd like that. Craig and I were supposed to be patrolling on Saturday, but I'm sure we can swap days with another pair on rotation."

"Just let me know. But for now, get registered for the SAT. And I will be on your ass about it. If we have to have study sessions after midnight, we will."

"I wouldn't be opposed. But don't worry. Carmilla and I got this."

"You better. I promise you, if you make me have to travel across town to visit you on campus, I will be very upset." I was only being semi-serious. "But seriously, I believe in you."

"Thank you, Em," Peter said in earnest.

"Anytime. Well, I'll let you go. I love you, Loser."

"I love you, too. Have a goodnight."

"You, too."

The next day, after school, I decided to walk with Ned to The Sanctum. I guess I was a bit curious to see what the inside of it looked like. I knew I've been there before. But, since I had no memory of it anymore, and since Ned spent time there, I figured I should get myself reacquainted. As we walked, Ned and I talked. Well, he talked. I nodded along. I was a bit nervous. And who wouldn't be? I was going to be a in a place that housed some of the most powerful sorcerers on Earth.

"…and yeah, that's how America and I ended up befriending a whale shark," Ned finished. He looked at me. "MJ, you okay? You're a bit quiet… well, more quiet than usual."

"I'm just a bit anxious about stepping inside of a place that Doctor Strange calls home," I replied.

"Still want to kick him in the dick?"

"With a quickness."

"Well, if he's there, please don't."

I turned my head and gave Ned a glare. "Ned, despite what Brad did at the Valentine's Day Dance, I didn't kick him in the dick. And despite Flash being Flash, I never kicked him in the dick. I think I have enough restraint not to act on my dick-kicking desires." I then looked forward and scoffed. "Besides, I'm not trying to do anything that'll have me turned into some kind of rat or rabbit or something. It'd be a damper on the dating life."

We arrived at The Sanctum. There was nothing really special about it on the outside. I might've passed this building so many times during my life, but I couldn't tell you for sure. But once I got inside… well… it might as well have been a set piece for a Harry Potter movie with that large staircase. There were some people milling about in baggy clothes. But two people stuck out – a Hispanic girl who looked to be my age, dressed in a jean jacket and black jeans, and a white-haired woman in purple who was as tall as me. The two of them were talking before the girl turned her head in our direction. He smiled and waved excitedly.

"Hey Ned!" she greeted as we walked up to them.

"Hey America, hey Clea," Ned greeted back. "How are things?"

"A little better now that the sand has been cleared a way," the woman replied. When Ned looked at her in confusion, she grimaced. "Somebody left The Rotunda of Gateways open on the Sahara Desert while a sandstorm was happening there. It didn't get as bad at that time involving a Siberian blizzard, but still, people were not pleased." She turned her attention to me. Her eyes were rather intense. I almost took a step back. I stood my ground and held my expression. "I take it you're a friend of Ned's. I am Clea."

"And I'm America," America said afterwards.

"Yeah, this is Michelle," Ned informed as he beckoned towards me with his right hand. "She's Peter's boyfriend."

Clea nodded and she smiled slightly. "So you're the one Spider-Man adores so much."

I turned my head towards Ned and furrowed up my eyebrows. "You told them?"

"He didn't, I assure you." I looked back at Clea. "We… Strange and I… came across another Peter Parker in another universe one that was mostly identical to ours up until a certain point."

I tilted my head. "A certain point?"

Clea nodded. "Tell me, did Peter ever tell you about a dream where you ended up dying?" I pressed my lips together and nodded. "Well, you may not know this, but, with few exceptions, every dream is a glimpse into another universe, from the perspective of that universe's version of you."

I raised my eyebrows. "I'm sorry, what?" I shook my head. "So you're telling me that almost every dream I had really happened, just in another universe."

"Yup!" America confirmed. I looked at her. "Of course, that only happens if there are other versions of you that exist." She sighed. "I don't dream, so, I'm literally one in a few trillion and…" She cleared her throat. "Sorry, I'm going off tangent." She looked at Clea. "Please, continue."

Clea shook her head in amusement before she looked back at me. "Forgive America. She can be rather excitable. As for that alternate version of Peter, we ended up finding him after we entered his universe. He was in a rather dark place when we got to him. He carried a lot of anger in his heart after his Michelle was killed. He told us about what happened in his life – how Mysterio posthumously exposed his identity, how academic institutions wanted nothing to do with the three of you… The Runes of Kof-Kol…" It took me a moment to realize she was talking about The Spell. "He went after both criminal and law enforcement agent alike. It took a long talk with Strange to bring him back to his senses. After we put him in another universe for a fresh start, we came back here and reached out to Peter… this universe's Peter."

"I see." I breathed out. I looked over at Ned. "Sorry."

"No worries, dude," Ned said with a shake of his head "I get it."

I nodded. I then stared towards the floor. There were so many questions running through my head. And it wasn't just about alternate universes. I was thinking about my memory flashes. But what could I say? What could I ask Clea or America? And honestly, I didn't want to bring it up in front of Ned. I love Ned to death. He's a brother to me. But I just knew that if I told him about what I was going through, he'd keep digging and pressing. And if he found out that I didn't tell Peter…

"America, Ned, why don't you two go ahead?" Clea said. I lifted my head and saw that Clea was looking at me. "I'd like to continue talking with Michelle."

"Okay," America replied with a nod. She looked at me and smiled. "Pleased to meet you, Michelle! Tell Peter I said hi."

"Will do," I told her. I waved at them. They waved back before they went up the stairs. I watched them as they leave until they were out of sight.

"You seem troubled," Clea said. I sighed and looked at her. "Is there something on your mind?"

"Nothing I want to talk about out in the open," I answered.

"I see." She reached upward into the air. Her hand disappeared for a moment. But as she brought her hand down, I realized she pulled out a sword from a small portal. This time, I did take a step back. "Be not afraid, child. I have no intention of harming you." She turned and slashed at the air in front of her. A portal opened up. "Follow me." After that, she stepped inside. I really didn't want to follow her. I know Ned to trusted her, but his judgment was not my judgment. Still, I wanted answers. So, I took in a deep breath before I stepped through the portal. A second later, I was in… a rather upscale cabin with windows for walls.

"What is this place?" I asked as I looked round. The placed looked like it was built around a stone pillar that had a fire place in it.

"The YEZO Retreat in Hokkaido, Japan," Clea replied.

I looked at her with wide eyes. "So we just went from New York to Japan in the matter of seconds?"

"Indeed."

I huffed out a breath. "How powerful are you?"

"I can literally travel to another dimension or universe in the same amount of time." She smiled. "But one doesn't have to go from universe to universe to see the wonders of nature." She beckoned me to follow before she walked up the spiral staircase. I walked behind her. Eventually, we ended up on… the roof? The balcony? I couldn't quite tell. But, there was a sitting area with two chairs and a small table between them. On top of the table was a serving tray with a tea pot and two cups. What got my attention was the view. I saw the grass and trees that covered the hills and valleys. We were definitely in the mountains.

"This is a hell of a view," I said.

"It is," Clea agreed as she moved to my side. "While this is not my home dimension, I've grown attached to it. So I keep a few places across this universe to stay in. Perhaps you and Peter could use this place sometime."

"I certainly wouldn't mind."

I looked at her, and Clea nodded. "Well, just let me know when. But, we're not here to talk about dwellings, are we?" She beckoned towards the table. "Sit." I walked over to one of the chairs and took a seat. Clea took the other seat and lifted up the teapot. "What would you like to drink?"

"Would you happen to have rooibos tea in that pot?" I asked.

"I do now." She poured the red liquid in my cup. She then poured something green into hers.

Right. Magic.

"So, what's on your mind, young one?" Clea asked.

"The Runes of Kof-Kol," I began. "…That kind of spell… could it be reversed?"

Clea raised her eyebrows briefly. "If there is a way, no one has found it yet." She frowned. "Rune-based spells could usually be undone by destroying the runes or casting other runes to cancel them out. Unfortunately, there are three problems. One, it would take a rather powerful sorcerer to conjure up a spell to destroy or contain the runes. Two, they'd have to target the right set of runes." She paused for a moment. "The spell has been casted multiple times for many reasons." She sounded a bit annoyed. Something told me that The Spell was used before for some stupid shit. "Lastly, and what might be the biggest hurdle, is finding the runes in the first place. That presents a danger in and of itself since they're traveling the borders of the known and unknown reality, which is a rather hazardous place to be."

"I see." I swallowed. I took a moment to take a sip of my tea. "But, hypothetically, is it possible for there to be a weakness in the spell? A blind spot or…" I trailed off.

She scoffed. "There's not a single spell in existence that doesn't have a way around it, no matter how powerful. One hasn't been found for The Runes of Kof-Kol. But I'm sure there is." She took a sip of her tea before she looked at me pointedly. "…Why do you ask?"

"…" I didn't say anything at first. I looked down at the tea cup. I wanted to tell her I was just curious, but I think I made it very clear that something was weighing heavy on my mind. Plus, I wasn't inconsiderate. Clea brought me all the way out here to talk and had been quite nice to me. How could I not tell her? I took in a breath and looked up at her. "…I've been… I've been getting these flashes. They're like flashes of events that I don't remember, yet they feel so familiar. And, I have reasons to believe that they're memories I had before The Spell. And, to make things worse, I think I'm being haunted by this version of me that seems to exist in the mirrors I look into. It only happened twice so far, but both times, she spoke. She told me to let her in, and, the last time I saw her, I told her to leave me alone. She said that would be impossible. When I asked her why, she told me to enjoy the memories before she vanished."

"That is… odd," Clea commented.

"What does this all mean?"

"I wish I could tell you it means you'll get your memories back." She frowned at me. "I won't tell you that, because I don't want to fill you with a hope that could be false. However, I also don't like filling people with false despair either. I guess what I'm trying to say is… it can go either way."

I nodded. "Okay, I get that." I shook my head. "But, assuming that it means I'm getting my memories back? Why me? What makes me so special?"

"Your relationship with Peter, perhaps?" Clea offered.

I paused for a moment, then tilted my head briefly. "Well, Peter better think I'm special. But, is that really a possible answer?"

"Like I told you before, there's not a single spell without a weakness or loophole. People have overcome spells with something as simple as willpower or… even love."

I tilted my head. "Wait, that's a thing? I thought that was some Disney movie, fairy tale bullshit."

That actually got her to laugh. "Yes, it is, indeed, a thing." She took another sip of her tea. "So, where do we go from here?"

I sighed. "I don't know yet. But… I can't tell anyone else. Not yet."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "Not even Peter?"

"I don't want to keep this secret from him." I paused. "Especially because I kind of gave him shit over him keeping secrets. I just want to tell him when I finally figure out what's going on. I don't know if you heard, but somebody is coming for his head. Again. And, I don't want him to be distracted from what could be another major threat on his hands. So please, don't tell anyone. Especially not Ned, since he has the tendency to be…"

"I noticed," Clea said. "Fine, I'll keep your secret for. I'll be in contact with you. And I will be letting you know if I find out anything. But keep in mind, if things get to a point where I feel it's detrimental to you or anyone else, then your secret will no longer be kept. Is that understood?"

I nodded. "Yes."

We spent about another at the cabin before Clea opened up a portal that dropped me off in front of my building. We said bye to each other before I stepped through. As the portal closed behind me, I frowned. I remembered that I made Peter promise me that he'll, at the very least, to tell me if something was going on with him, even if he couldn't tell me in detail. All of a sudden, I felt guilty, because I knew I was being a fucking hypocrite. I knew I had to tell him that something was going on.

"Life is never simple, huh?" I said to myself as I made my way inside. "I guess I'll tell him on the roof."