Michelle "MJ" Jones

So a big game hunter is targeting my boyfriend. Because, sure, why not? I was both worried and annoyed. I was worried because no one knew if Kraven was a superhuman or just a "normal" guy who just happened to be extremely good at what he does (allegedly), so, as far as I knew, he probably had abilities rivaling Peter's. I was annoyed because, honestly, the type of villains that Peter has to deal with was veering into Batman territory.

Oh, great, now I sound like Ned.

Anyway, I was glad that Peter was ordered to stay home. I knew he was worrying about things a lot, so I figured a night where he could just be Peter would be good for him. I wanted to text him to check on him. Problem was, there was a 90 percent chance he swung by Peter Pan, so I was afraid that, if we talked, the subject of me not being there would be brought up. I had my reasons.

Let's rewind a bit.

I was in the library during lunch. I had a quiz in the next class, so I went over my notes. I tapped the pencil in my hand against the table. Nothing out of the ordinary so far, right? After I was sure I got everything, I closed my notebook, placed my pencil on the table, looked up… and saw Peter walking away from my table. I stared at him for a few moments. During those moments, I had to keep my eyes from travelling a bit downward. I looked left and right. I don't know why I did. Maybe I was wondering if someone else was seeing this. Well, turns out, I wasn't alone. There was Flash, Ned, Abraham… Basically the whole entire AcaDeca team from my sophomore year was at the table. I closed my eyes, shook my head, and reopened my eyes. I looked around once more…

"And they're gone," I whispered to myself. "This is getting real annoying."

The school bell rang. Lunch was over. I took in a breath before I picked up my pencil and notebook. I walked out of the library, hoping won't have another flash during the quiz. Good news, I didn't. Bad news, I got a visit from an unwanted acquaintance.

After class, I went to the bathroom. After doing my business, I went to one of the sinks to wash my hands. I grabbed a paper towel dried my hands off. After tossing the paper towels in the trash, I looked in the mirror. I was startled for a moment. I then rolled my eyes.

Once again, Dark Mirror MJ was looking back at me from where my reflection should have been.

"Your nickname for me is not cute," she deadpanned.

"Neither is you haunting," I quipped. "What do you want from me?"

"I told you what I want. Let me in."

I sneered. "Oh, I'm sorry. Please, come in. Make yourself at home. Would you like some Cocaine Energy Drink?"

She scoffed at me, unimpressed. "Leave the joking to The Loser."

I tilted my head. "Fine, let's be serious. I want you gone, out my head, out of my reflections… just gone!"

"Easier said than done, cupcake. Even if I wanted to grant your stupid wish, it would be impossible."

I leaned forward towards the mirror. "…Why?"

At that, Dark Mirror MJ turned her back towards me. "Enjoy the memories." And with that, she was gone.

I took in a breath. I wanted to break something. Actually, I wanted to break the mirror. But what would be the point? I was almost sure that breaking the mirror wasn't going to keep Dark Mirror MJ from haunting me. So, even if I wanted to risk getting in trouble for destroying school property, the only thing I'd get out of it was a brief feeling of relief, followed by detention, if not suspension. So, instead, I walked out of the bathroom and to my next class. For the rest of the school day, I couldn't tell you what the lessons were on. I quietly hoped that Ned took good notes when the final bell rang. When I left school, I called my boss and told him I couldn't come in. He started yelling at me for being undependable – which was stupid, since I only called out twice since the year started, but that's my boss for you. So I lied and told him that I was on birth control and that I was getting my second period this month with a really heavy flow. All of a sudden, I got the rest of the week off paid because he, and I quote, "do not want to deal with that shit".

Funny how that worked.

Anyway, I sent one of my co-workers a text, asking them to have Peter's usual ready before I sent her the money to cover cost with Cash App. With that done, I went straight home and to my room, barely saying hello to my parents. I changed out of my clothes and put on a pair of black shorts with a matching t-shirt. I plugged my headphones into my phone and let my Spotify play. I lay down, looking at the ceiling. Song after song played, and all I wanted to know was what was going on with me.

Fear in me so deep

It gets the best of me

In the fear I fall

Here it comes face to face with me

Here I stand

Hold back so no one can see

I furrowed my eyebrows as I picked up the phone and looked at the screen.

"Downfall by Trust Company," I whispered. "Well, this is not helping." I took the buds out of my ears and turned off Spotify. After that, there was a knock on my door.

"Michelle," my mother said from the other side of the door. "You got a minute?"

"Yeah," I called out. I put my phone off to the side and sat up. My mom opened the door and walked in. She gave me a look of concern.

"I just wanted to see if you're okay," she said. I turned my body until my feet was on the floor. She took a seat next to me.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said with a small smile, lying through my teeth. "I was just a bit stressed out from school." Okay, technically, that wasn't a lie. But, what could I tell my mom? For her to understand what was going on, I would have to open a can of worms that I'm not sure I'd ever be ready to open. There was a lot of ground to cover with Peter alone. Add in The Spell and the fact that I sort of help and support a team of superheroes who are also technically a team of criminals (thank you, Accords), and, well, you can understand why I wasn't so quick to tell the truth.

At that moment, I started to have more understanding for what Peter has to go through.

"Are you sure that's all?" my mom pressed. "You don't usually miss work."

"I know, I know," I replied. "But, I'm just trying to do the best I can to make sure I don't lose my mind during this last semester."

My mom nodded. "Understandable. You've been working hard for a long while. I know you don't want all your effort to go to waste." She paused for a moment. There was a certain look in her eye. I knew she wanted to ask me about something else. "…So… I finally looked at the pictures of the dance you sent to me. I have to say, they're very well done." I almost smiled. I knew Peter would appreciate hearing that. But I knew the pictures weren't what she wanted to talk about. "Your father and I… we have questions about the people in those pictures. I mean, we know Ned and Betty, but we haven't met the others, especially the boy who had his arm around you." It took all of my effort not to cringe. I knew what she was going to ask. Really, I knew the question was coming the moment I sent the pictures to her. It was only a matter of "when". "Are you dating that boy, Michelle?"

I swallowed. There was no point in hiding it. "Yes, I am." I nodded. "His name is Peter. Peter Parker."

My mother hummed. "He seems like a decent young man. Does he go to Midtown?"

I shook my head. "No." Not anymore, he doesn't.

"Is he in school?"

"He's taking GED classes."

My mom raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? How come he's not in a regular high school?"

How come? Oh, it's simple. Because he beat a crazed villain in Europe, who ended up killing himself while trying to kill Peter, and said villain has basically screwed him from beyond the grave for months on end. Oh, and a whole spell from Doctor Strange is involved. Did I also mention that his aunt, who was basically acted as his mom and big sister, got killed by someone from a different universe?

That's what I wanted to say, but I couldn't. Not outright, anyway. It wasn't my place to say. Or maybe it was. I just didn't feel right telling my mom about Peter's life in detail without Peter knowing. If it was okay for my parents to know, that would be something for Peter to decide. So, I figured I'd go the vague route.

"I don't want to go into detail, because it wouldn't be right for me to tell you." I stopped for a moment as my mom raised her eyebrows at me. "It's very personal for him. But, he dealt with a lot major stuff in his life."

"How major?"

That question was one I could answer directly. "I'm honestly surprised he hasn't blown his brains out." Her eyes went wide. "He's in a good place now, I promise you."

"I'm glad, but I'm still a bit concerned." She tilted her head. "Has he ever had a psychotic break around you, or lashed out at you or…?"

I shook my head. "No. I mean, we've had our arguments, but he's not abusive in any way. The closest thing he had to a psychotic break was the few times he couldn't hold in his tears." And, honestly, that was surprising to me. Like I told Peter during our huge talk – the one after he told Ned, Betty, and I the truth – I was still surprised that he could still be… him. I don't know if I could have been that way in his shoes.

Knowing me, if I was him, people would have been lucky if I just read New York City for filth before I left the superhero life behind.

"Also, he's been having online sessions with a psychologist in New Orleans," I added.

My mom's expression softened a bit. Still, I was sure she wanted some more assurance. "Are you sure he's safe to be around?"

"I'm sure." I smiled. "To be honest, I think he's scared of me." I acted like I was joking. But I wasn't.

Much to my relief, my mom actually chuckled. "Okay. Well… just know that your dad and I would like to have a talk with your boyfriend, as well as your friends." She paused again as she frowned. "I know we haven't really been that involved when it comes to your personal life, but we're working to change that. So, we would like to get to know who your friends. If you can let them know…"

"I will," I promised. "Just don't expect it to be within the next few weeks. They're busy with a lot of stuff. All of them are holding down more than one job, especially Craig."

"Just whenever they have time, we'd like to have them over, especially Peter."

"Noted. I'll let them know."

The rest of the night went by normal… mostly. I had dinner with my parents before I went to bed. Before I went to sleep, though, I remembered I needed to talk to Ned about notes. So, I picked up my phone and called him. A couple of rings later, he picked up.

"Hey MJ," he greeted.

"Hey, nerd," I replied. "Did you take notes for American Lit and Trig?"

"I did. Do you need them?"

"Yeah, I do. I kinda zoned out during the last two classes."

Ned scoffed. "You? Zoning out? I never thought I'd see the day."

I rolled my eyes. "This may surprise you, Ned, but I'm actually human, from my epidermis all the way down to my bodily functions."

"I'm well aware. But you never zone out in class. You're not worried about Peter, are you?"

"I'm always worried about Peter, dork. I just felt a bit out of it after lunch."

"I see. Well, I can meet you early at the library at school. Does six o'clock work for you?"

"That would be fine, Ned," I said.

"Okay, I'll see you then," he replied. "But are you sure everything is okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine and…" I trailed off. I remembered that he was training under Doctor Strange. Then I started thinking about The Spell again. I took in a deep breath. "Actually, since I have you here… Since you're training under Doctor Strange and all… The Spell… Do you think something like that could be reversed?"

Ned didn't answer at first. I guess he was thinking about it. "I don't know. I barely started. I'm just an apprentice. But, I doubt it. From what I understand, this isn't a spell that was cast on just a few people or even the planet. We're talking the whole entire universe. If there was any to reverse that, it would take a lot. Honestly, this is a question for Doctor Strange."

"…You're right." I didn't want to admit it. Because it meant that I would have to talk with Doctor Strange, and I was still at the point where I wanted to verbally drag him… or kick him in the dick… or both. I knew it was petty of me to feel that way. As much as I hated him for not taking time to thoroughly explain to Peter the details of the memory spell, I had to admit that, had it not been for The Spell, the very universe I lived in would have likely been fucked from every angle. Also, he was fighting at The Battle of Earth. So I guess I owed him my life, as much as I didn't want to admit it.

…But still, fuck Doctor Strange.

"Well, anyway, I have to go to bed," Ned spoke up, taking me out of my thoughts. "I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, MJ!"

"Goodnight, Ned." I hung up the phone and put it down. I rolled onto my back and looked up at the ceiling.

I was irritated. It took me days to get to a point where I was okay with not remembering my time with Peter before The Spell. And yet, apparently, I'm having memories being drip fed to me like an IV. What did it all mean? I don't know. If it wasn't one thing, it was another.

"Of course," I grumbled to myself and closed my eyes while I pouted. "All I wanted was the rest of my year to go smoothly. But no, apparently that's too much to ask for." I took in a deep breath and just focused on sleeping.