Chapter 1
Christmas was coming and the city glimmered in decorations. Spiderman was still in the news but somehow everyone had forgotten his name, Peter Parker. Everyone except one lone homeless woman with a secret of her own. She found a local diner to warm up and managed to return enough recycling to buy herself a sandwich and a cup of coffee. She was rather short, only five foot tall. Weighted about a hundred pounds. Her messy brown hair was kept short and hidden under the blue knit hat. She wore a brown overcoat with an old pair of jeans and old sneakers. She sported a red sweat shirt and held all her belongings in a single backpack. Her brown eyes gazed upon the nearly empty diner upon walking inside.
The young waitress looked upon the homeless woman who just stepped inside the diner. Her heart sank for the young woman's plight. Wearing a mint green uniform with red collar, Michelle "MJ" Jones-Watson gave a warm smile. "Can I help you?"
She shuffled to the counter. "I would like a tuna sandwich and a coffee." she requested digging out her change.
"Be right up." she told her and went to get the food.
She looked about the empty seats. She made small talk. "You working alone?"
"It's Christmas Eve." she reminded her. "As you can see were real busy." she remarked. She placed the sandwich and coffee before her. She noticed the pile of change. "It's on me." she insisted.
"Thank you." she stated grateful.
"Merry Christmas." MJ told her.
"Merry Christmas to you too." she smiled and then started to eat.
MJ tended to her duties as the homeless woman ate. She started to wipe the counters, "You have a name?"
She spoke between bites. "Edna Casey. Eddy."
"MJ Watson." she replied.
Eddy asked, "We're you in the news a few weeks back with Spiderman?"
"No!" she shook her head laughing. "I never even met Spiderman. I wouldn't mind meeting him though."
"I swore you were." she insisted.
"Not me." she shook her head.
The door swung open and a masked man rushed inside holding a pistol. He pointed it at MJ and made his demands. "Give me all the money in the register." he huffed. He wore jeans and a black jacket with a black knitted ski mask. He seemed strung out as his eyes were blood shot and he shook the gun.
"Okay!" MJ complied. "Just don't shoot anyone." She opened the cash register as the man rushed the counter. He grabbed the cash and started to make a break for it when MJ grabbed the hot coffee pot and threw it at him. The man opened fire in return as he ran out the door with the cash.
MJ managed to hit the panic alarm button as she slumped over the counter. Eddy rose to her feet to assist. She got to MJ behind the counter and was in shock as to what she just witnessed. She found MJ was fading fast as she lowed her to the ground. She looked up and found no one was around to help. She grabbed a donut from the counter behind her and shoved the whole thing in her mouth as MJ was dying. She gulped down the food and then placed her hand on top of the wound to MJ's chest. She instantly went into a trance.
"I have the body." she stated in the trance.
MJ knew she was dying and everything was going gray. She knew the wound was fatal. Then she felt a surge of heat go through her body and mind. It was if time stopped and she felt warmth and love. She figured she must be dying for sure. Maybe there was a heaven after all and she would see her loved ones in mere moments. Then here memories started rushing back. The memories of Peter and Spiderman. Of the two other Peter Parkers who came through along with the adversaries. She recalled Peter telling her and Ned goodbye as they would not remember the events. She remembered everything! She gasped for air as the surge of warmth subsided. Eddy leaned back against the wall grasping the bullet in the palm of her hands. She seem a bit out of it.
"Sugar." Eddy requested.
MJ sat up as police arrived. She looked down at her uniform and found the bullet hole from the gunshot but she was completely healed. She looked at Eddy who was going pale. "How did you?" she asked.
"I need sugar or I will pass out." she told her. "Orange juice."
MJ rose to her feet to get the juice.
The police officers entered. "You okay miss?" one officer called.
She covered her uniform with her hand. "I'm okay. So is my customer. The robber ran out. He was wearing a black jacket, blue jeans and a blue ski mask."
Peter Parker then ran into the dinner as he heard the call on the scanner. He was too worried about MJ to go after the robber. He looked upon the scene. "You okay?" he asked her worried.
She paused and looked at him. He was in jeans and a jacket and not in his Spiderman suit. She gave a warm smile. "I'm fine, Peter. Help me with my new friend here." She requested.
The smile. It was as if she recognized him. Curious he came to her aid. Peter looked behind the counter as MJ handed Eddy the glass of orange juice.
The police officer asked, "Is that homeless woman okay?"
"I'm fine." Eddy replied. "I'm diabetic and came get something to eat when the guy robbed the place."
MJ handed her the juice. "I don't how you did that but thank you." she softly told her.
"Just don't tell anyone. Please." she begged. She looked at Peter. "Shouldn't you be running down the bad guy?"
"Excuse me?" he asked a bit taken.
"Whatever Dr. Strange did on Statue of Liberty did not affect me." she informed.
"You are immune to it?" he asked surprised.
She nodded, "Seems I'm the only one who remembers."
"Wow!" he replied wide-eyed. It seemed no one remembered him at all.
MJ stated, "I remember now."
"Wait!" Peter gasped. "You do?"
She nodded and then showed him her uniform. "I was shot and I was dying. She did something."
Peter looked at Eddy. His eyes followed down to her hand as she held the bullet before him. "You don't tell anyone that I can heal people by touching them and I won't tell anyone you are Spiderman." she offered.
"I ah…" he gaped.
MJ grinned at Peter. "Shouldn't you be running down the bad guy? I got this here."
"Right." he agreed gathering his wits. He rose to his feet and then quickly made his way out the back and into the night.
MJ then sat down next to Eddy on the floor.
Eddy placed the bullet in her hand. "Here. You can get rid of it."
She looked at the bullet that nearly killed her. "I guess I owe you my life."
"You don't owe me anything." she shook her head.
"You got a place to stay?" she wondered as she grasped the bullet.
"No," she shook her head again.
"You can stay with me." she offered.
"I appreciate it." she told her.
She asked, "Can you restore the memories of others who were affected by the spell?"
"The memory was there. It was merely suppressed." she nodded.
"Can you help my friend Ned to remember?" she asked.
She nodded, "It takes energy. I will have to charge you." she stated.
"How much?" she asked.
"About two dollars." she informed. "I will need to bring some candy with me."
"I think I can spring for that." she assured.
Christmas Day
MJ brought Eddy with her as she went to visit Ned for the holiday. She stood before his apartment door holding a small wrapped box for his grandmother. She rang the bell.
Eddy stood beside her in borrowed clothing from MJ. She never felt so stylish in the pink jacket and blue jeans with boots. She remarked, "I love these boots."
"They're yours." MJ told her.
The door swung open and Ned smiling face greeted them. "MJ! You're here." He then noticed the stranger. "Um…"
MJ handed him the box. "Merry Christmas. Here's fruitcake for your grandma."
"Merry Christmas." he stated taking the box and then gave her a hug.
MJ introduced. "This is my friend, Eddy."
Eddy held out her hand. "It's not to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too." Ned stated taking her hand in greeting.
Suddenly, Ned felt a surge of heat start from his hand and run up his arm and then through his whole body.
"I have the body." Eddy stated in the trance like state.
MJ grabbed the candy bar from her pocket and unwrapped it knowing Eddy would need it very soon.
Ned felt the surge of memories return as he remembered Peter and all the adventures. He remembered what Peter sacrificed and how his memories were taken from him by the spell to save the world. He soon emerged from the wave of memories and stood dumbfounded for a moment. He watched on as MJ gave the candy bar to Eddy who gobbled it down quickly.
"What just happened?" he asked.
MJ asked "You remember Peter now?"
He slowly nodded. "I remember."
She grinned. "Great! Let's go see him."
"How did she do that?" he gasped upon realizing Eddy just restored his memories.
"I'm a healer." she told him. "I heal people by touching them. You have to keep that a secret or everyone will try to get their hands on me."
MJ stated "I was shot in the robbery last night. Eddy healed me and restored my memories."
He looked down at the package. "Let me give grandma her fruitcake first." He turned and walked back inside. "Grandma. Here's some fruitcake for you. I'm going out to visit my friends for Christmas."
Short Time Later
MJ, Eddy and Ned stood before the door of Peter's new apartment. MJ knocked. "Peter!"
The door swung open. His eyes settled on his friend. He nearly cried. "You're all here."
"Merry Christmas." Eddy stated.
Ned rushed him with a hug. "Peter! I'm so sorry I forgot all about you."
"It's not your fault." he assured. "Come in." He opened the door wide and led his friends inside.
Ned walked inside and looked about. "Not as nice as Aunt Mae's place."
"It's home." Peter told him. He looked at Eddy. "You brought my friends back to me. How can I ever repay you?"
"Candy for life should do it." she told him.
He looked at MJ who agreed. "She needs the sugar or she crashes when she does her thing."
"You go it." Peter agreed.
"Not the cheap shit either. The good stuff." she demanded.
"Okay." he had no idea how expensive good chocolate could be. He led them to the small kitchen table he had set up. "Can I get you guys anything?" he opened his refrigerator and realized he no food at all. "Um…"
MJ told him. "We already ate. Eddy is staying with me and my parents. I think she should enroll in our school. My parents can be her foster parents." She assumed Eddy was a teenager as she looked rather young.
"Why do I need to go to high school?" Eddy asked.
"So you can get a diploma and go to college." she told her. "Get a good job so you won't have to live on the streets."
"I ended up on the streets because powerful people discovered what I can do and wanted to imprison me and force me to keep them alive and restore their youth. I ran! I'm hiding from them. They are assholes." she explained.
Peter asked, "So you can heal anyone?"
She nodded. "Anyone."
"You think you could restore the memory of Dr. Strange. He was forced to forget too." Peter explained.
She nodded, "I just need to shake his hand and have a candy bar ready."
Peter told her. "Boy, the Avengers could have used you during the war."
"That was so stupid." she shook her head.
"Lot of good friends died." Peter told her.
She shook her head again. "Not Thanos."
Peter came to attention. "Mr. Stark sacrificed himself to stop him."
"They merely caught between realms. They still alive. They had the infinity stones wrong. They do not erase matter. All matter is energy based. It just moves." she explained.
"So, we could get Mr. Stark back?" he asked.
"The tuaoi stone can reverse the whole thing." she informed.
Ned gasped, "The tuaoi stone of Atlantis!"
She nodded, "That's the one. Things is it's not one piece anymore. It was broken and scattered throughout the globe during the war."
Peter asked, "Atlantis?"
She nodded, "Atlantis! It was real. It was a the most advanced civilization in the universe. It was here, here on Earth. That is why Earth is so important to the Asgard and other races. Atlantis is the parent race. And you are the children of the parent race. You don't understand how special you all are."
Peter asked, "How do you know all this, Eddy?"
"I was there." she repeated. "I was on Atlantis, here on Earth fifty five thousand years ago. I was in charge of the tuaoi stone. It was my job to keep it safe and use it's power to benefit the people. Over time, two main political groups emerged. They were at odds on how to use the power of the stone. One group wanted to keep it secret and not share the power. To rule with it. The other group wanted to share it with the world and other races. The war resulted in a massive space battle that resulted in the loss of the original moon and the first Krypton. The planet that is now an asteroid belt. The moon we have is artificially made. We had to replace it. Before Atlantis sank it had split into three sections. Each with a ruling family. The survivors went into the world to start a new civilization. But not everyone. Some went into hiding and took the ships and what technology survived with them. When the tuaoi stone was destroyed, I was near it and was exposed to its power. It fused into my flesh, down to the bone and gave me the power to heal and I don't age. But, there is a downside. It drains me of energy and I need sugar to replace it." She looked at MJ, "I'm over fifty five thousand years old. I don't think high school will do me much good at this point in time."
Ned became giddy. "Oh' my god. We got a real life Atlantean with us. This is so cool."
Peter asked, "How did you survive for fifty five thousand years?"
"By blending in and laying low." she told him. "The exposure made me immortal. Not stupid."
Peter stated, "I can't imagine what you have witnessed through out history."
She sighed. "I went through history as a normal human. I blended in. I stayed low and didn't get involved. I helped those who I could help. But I found that I had be careful as some people saw me as a source of eternal youth and I was captured and forced against my will heal royalty and elitist. I got away from them and stayed low ever since."
"The Avengers would have protected you." Peter stated.
"They couldn't protect themselves, Peter." she shook her head. "I'm the last of the original Atlanteans." She paused for she knew that statement was a lie. "The breakaways are still out there along with their descendents. They know all about me and want to get their hands on the power of the stone that I was infused with during the explosion."
Peter asked, "So why are you here now?"
"It wasn't intentional." she confessed. "I was eating at the dinner last night when that robbery went down. I was the only one there. I could not leave MJ to die like that. I had to help."
Peter asked, "So if we can recreate this tuaoi stone, we can bring back Mr. Stark?"
"Hell we could reverse the whole thing and correct the timeline." she stated. "The timeline has been altered by the stunt Thanos pulled."
"How do we do that?" Peter wondered.
"I don't know where the pieces of the stone went. The stone was large. It wasn't small. It was the size of the great pyramid. It blew up. In doing so it took out the first moon and another planet and broke Atlantis into three sections that all sunk separately."
Peter pondered, "I wonder if we could recreate the stone if we found a piece of it?"
"I don't know. The engineers who made the stone did that two hundred thousand years ago. Atlantis was ruling the planet for all that time. That was long before I was even born. I'm the last of the last generation." she told him.
MJ stated, "Maybe Dr. Strange can help us locate this stone?"
"Maybe." Peter agreed.