Peter could do nothing as the press dragged his name through the mud along with Michelle's and Ned's. Pepper worked all day with Mr. Murdock, assuring Peter that they would be able to clear his name from Beck's death, but it did little to comfort him. After the Times dropped Michelle's interview and Ned got a call from his boss requesting he take a few weeks off―"Just as a temporary precaution," he had said―Peter needed to do something.

Instead, he was stuck in the Tower with nothing to preoccupy his thoughts. Even Morgan had left for school, taking her contagious energy with her and leaving Peter to sit on the couch with Michelle under his arm and Ned across from them.

"This sucks, man," Ned grumbled, setting his Xbox controller aside.

"You're just saying that because you lost," Michelle teased. "Again."

Ned scowled and Michelle smirked, but Peter couldn't be bothered to join their teasing.

Suddenly, there was an Xbox controller being thrust into his hands and Michelle was shifting beside him.

"Your turn, tiger," she said. Her hand dropped to his knee and she tilted her head back to look up at him. "Ned needs to win at least once."

"I can beat Ned," Peter countered, glancing down at her. "Call of Duty is, like, the easiest―Hey! Not that map!"

Ned snickered, ignoring Peter's cry of protest and pressing X to start.

Playing Xbox with Ned and Michelle was only distracting for so long. Pepper and Mr. Murdock interrupted sporadically, asking to speak with Peter throughout the day to the point where they eventually decided to turn off the Xbox altogether.

After the fourth time Peter returned from a murmured conversation with Mr. Murdock, Ned was on the verge of what he decided was a great idea.

"The wizard guy could fix this," he told Peter conspiratorially. "He probably has some magic spell to make everyone forget about this whole thing."

"Ned." Michelle rolled her eyes. "Be reasonable."

"I am!"

They turned to Peter, both looking for his support but he just blinked.

"Dr. Strange has more important things to deal with," he said eventually. Michelle rolled her eyes again as Peter went on to say, "He's, like, the guardian of the multiverse or whatever. My identity being revealed is nowhere near his paygrade."

"I doubt he's doing anything more than shuffling his magic cards and waving his wand," Michelle said. Peter didn't point out her sudden change in opinion.

"He doesn't use a wand," he muttered. Michelle grinned. "He's not―We can't just walk up and ask him to fix this. It's my mess. I should be the one to fix it," he insisted.

"Peter." Michelle sighed, turning on the couch to face him with one leg tucked under her. "Murdock can drop the murder charges for you, but the whole world is still gonna know who you are. Dr. Strange might be the only one who can fix that."

"It's worth a shot," Ned added with a small, hopeful smile, "isn't it?"

With a bit of reluctance and a dramatic groan, Peter agreed and the three of them found themselves in the elevator down to the ground floor.

As they stepped through the elevator doors, Michelle tugged the hood of Peter's sweater over his head. No one in the Tower spared them a glance, but Peter was glad for the gesture all the same. When they stepped onto the streets of New York to hail a cab, however, they drew attention.

"Get in," Peter muttered as a taxi stopped at the curb for them. Ned climbed in first and Peter held the door open as Michelle followed. He slid in after her, giving the driver Dr. Strange's address and locking the door beside him.

"Lots of rumors 'bout you," the driver said, eyeing Peter through the rearview mirror.

"Just drive," Michelle said. She crossed her arms over her chest and Peter turned to look out the window. "We're not here to chat."

"They true, then?" the driver asked. "The rumors? Spider-Man killed Mysterio?"

"What of it?" Michelle snapped. Her eyes didn't leave the driver. "You gonna kick us out?"

"Was gonna ask why."

"Well, don't," Michelle said sharply. "Drive."

As the driver's eyes shifted back to the street―this time staying there―Michelle's hand found Peter's. He squeezed her hand in return but didn't turn from the window.

The drive to the Sanctum was silent, but Michelle refused to consider it uncomfortable. When they finally did arrive, Michelle paid the driver while Peter and Ned hurried across the sidewalk to knock on the heavy door.

"Next time," Michelle told the driver coldly, "don't ask about personal business."

She slammed the door and followed Peter and Ned inside the Sanctum.

She'd met Dr. Strange on only a few occasions, usually in passing when Peter ended up in the Compound med-bay after a mission. They hadn't exchanged more than a few passing words here or there, but there was little chance of her ever forgetting what the man looked like. Even without his magic cape, he was a demanding presence.

"I hear congratulations are in order," was the first thing he said when she walked through the door.

"God, Peter," she muttered, moving to his side in front of Strange. She couldn't help the small smile that crossed her face even as she tried to feign annoyance. "I was out there for five minutes and you already told him?"

"In my defense, he asked how Europe was."

"It was rhetoric," Strange told him. With a wave of his hand, he added, "Everyone in the world knows."

"That too," Peter grumbled. Clearing his throat, he straightened and said, "Ned thought you might be able to help us out."

Strange raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

They all turned to glance at Ned who was already buried in Strange's magic cloak.

"I mean," he stuttered, "just, you've got, like, magic. You can do something with it, right?"

"Right," Strange said drily.

"You can help, then?" Peter looked at him hopefully, all wide eyes and hope in a way that made Michelle's chest ache. God help her, if Strange said no, Peter was going to cry. She already knew it.

"I'm a sorcerer, kids," Strange told them, "not a magician for hire."

"That's not a 'no'," Ned pointed out eagerly.

With a sigh, Strange hung his head and muttered something under his breath that Michelle didn't catch. When he lifted his head to address the ceiling and groan dramatically, however, she knew he was going to agree.

Turning a stern look on Peter, he said, "Tell me what you want."

Unfortunately, it was not as easy as Ned had made it sound. Strange could not just wave his hands and make everything go back to how it had been, which was disappointing, but not enough for Michelle to feel like they were out of luck. According to Strange, there was a way to make the world forget Spider-Man's identity, but it was an all-or-nothing solution.

"Everyone forgets," Strange told them. Pointing at Ned and Michelle, he told Peter, "Your friends, your family, the whole world."

"Even the Avengers?" Peter asked warily. Strange nodded once. "You can't―I don't know―change it a bit? Make everyone who isn't supposed to know, forget, but everyone who knew before, remember?"

Strange shook his head.

"Doesn't work like that, kid," he said. "There's also the problem of the video."

"Right."

They all shared a look.

"Even if everyone forgets Spider-Man," Strange said, "that video will still be out there."

Michelle watched as Peter's mind worked, clearly trying to find the perfect solution to an imperfect problem.

"What if we take it down?" he asked Strange, glancing up at him. "Shuri. She could do it."

"Sure, why not?" Strange muttered with a toss of his hands. "Get the whole team involved."

"Would it help?" Peter asked. Strange gave him a look and Peter nodded. "That's a no, then. But if Shuri took everything off the internet, would it work then?"

With a deep sigh, Strange nodded. "Yeah, it would. But you have to understand," he said quickly, "no one will know who Spider-Man is. It'll be like he never existed."

"That's―That's okay," Peter stuttered. He glanced at Michelle who merely pursed her lips. "I'll just―I'll tell them all again," he promised, eyes locked on hers. "It'll be fine."

"You might want to think this over, Peter," Strange encouraged.

Peter turned his attention back to Strange sharply. "There's no other solution, is there?"

Strange shook his head.

"Then there's nothing to think over," Peter told him decidedly. "I'll call Shuri, then we can get started."

As Peter stepped to the side to call Shuri, Michelle stopped him. He frowned, his eyes darting up to where Strange was watching them, and looked back at Michelle.

"MJ―"

"Just five minutes," she said firmly. "Just give me five minutes, okay?"

Nodding reluctantly, Peter let her grab his hand and guide him through the Sanctum until they were far from Ned and Strange. She had just let go of his hand, thinking of where to begin, when Peter launched into a frenzy of words.

"I swear that I'll tell you, Em," he said hurriedly. "I will, I promise. As soon as the spell is done and―"

"That's not what I'm worried about, Peter," Michelle interrupted softly.

Peter paused. For a long moment, they just stared at each other while Michelle tried to form her thoughts into a coherent sentence and Peter waited anxiously.

"I know there's no other way," she said carefully, aware that Peter needed to hear her say it, "but perhaps you should take a moment to think about what that will mean."

"I don't need to," Peter said quickly. He took a step forward, gently grabbing her hands as he said, "Every minute we delay, the more they drag your name through the mud alongside mine. Your Times interview, Ned's job, May's job, hell! Even SI! It's all been ruined because of this. If I can fix it―"

"It's not only up to you," Michelle cut in. Peter frowned. "It's your secret, yes, but everything you just mentioned, all of it revolves around people knowing you're Spider-Man."

Peter blinked at her and Michelle squeezed his hands.

"Things won't go back to how they were before," she murmured.

She, Ned, and May wouldn't remember the late nights of waiting up while Peter was on patrol or the days spent in the med-bay. The Avengers wouldn't remember fighting with him. It was entirely possible that, should he reappear suddenly in Queens as Spider-Man, the Avengers would consider him a threat.

"Are you prepared for that?" she asked softly. "I just―I don't think you've thought this through."

Peter sighed, squeezing her hands again. "I can't, MJ. If I think about it, I'll go crazy. And, yeah―" He shrugged― "things will be different, but you'll all be safe: you, Ned, May, and everyone else. That's all I care about, Em."

"And the team?" Michelle asked.

Peter hesitated.

The team had been everything to him in the years since Stark's death. They'd taken him in, not nearly as much as Pepper had, but they had. Since Pepper and Morgan knew him first as Peter and second as Spider-Man, there was little chance of him losing that connection. With the team, however, it was different.

"We'll figure it out," Peter murmured. He pulled one of his hands from hers to slide around her waist. "As soon as that spell is done and I know you're safe, we'll figure it out."

"As long as you're sure," Michelle replied. Peter nodded, pressing his lips to her temple as he did so.

"I'm sure."