In some worlds, Peter Parker wants the world to forget Quentin Beck's broadcast, so he goes to Doctor Strange to make the world forget his identity. He wants some people to remember, causing complications, and the ramifications of his words affects worlds, leading him to the conclusion that using the unaltered spell is his best option, no matter the pain it causes him or the sense of unexplainable loss it causes for his loved ones.
That's not this world. In this world, Peter Parker was never outed as Spider-Man since Quentin Beck's broadcast plot was foiled by FRIDAY. Peter Parker had Strange give him a contained version of the unaltered spell as a failsafe in the event of his untimely death at the hands of a villain to protect his friends, his family, to protect everyone who has ever known Peter Benjamin Parker from being the next target.
Unfortunately, one cool Autumn day in September of 2024, Spider-Man died at the hands of a new group of villains.
And Peter Benjamin Parker ceased to exist.
--
Ned Leeds looked up from his computer and wondered why he felt so hollow inside, and as a hand went up to wipe his cheek, when and more importantly, why he had started crying. Why did it feel like he just lost a sibling? He's an only child. He turns back to the admissions forms for MIT and starts typing again.
--
Michelle Jones looks away from the TV and her hand drops away from the broken why is it broken?
"I like it better broken."
black dahlia necklace as she wonders why her chest feels so tight, why it feels like she just lost someone closer than her family. She abruptly shakes off the feeling when the customer across the counter from her clears their throat, resolving to figure it out later.
--
Happy Hogan wonders why he feels like he's missing a friend before he sees that May is crying. He quickly moves around the table to hug her, to try to comfort her, but there's nothing that he can do. After all, how do you comfort someone who just lost the child they've raised when they can't even remember raising that child?
--
Doctor Stephen Vincent Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme-In-Waiting, sees this all and weeps for the young man that he crafted the spell for, the spell he had built a contingency into so that he would never forget the young hero. Before the news crews get close to the body, Strange opens a portal, pulls Spider-Man's mask back into place, and casts a spell to keep it there. The young man wanted his family safe, so he will ensure at least that much. Even with their memories gone, pictures in their frames still have his face, databases still have his name. "They're safe now, Peter. It shouldn't have come at that cost, but they're safe."
--
Peter smiles sadly down at Stephen before walking back to his father figure, his father, his mother, his uncle, everyone that he had ever lost. "Thank you, Stephen."
--
Strange shivers for a moment. "That felt weird." He cups the young man's cheek through the mask for just a moment before leaving as quickly as he arrived, a small shower of orange sparks all that remains of his presence.
--
Everybody knows that Spider-Man died, they all know his heart, but nobody alive knows him. Nobody, except for one lone sorcerer, who lays a bouquet of purple hyacinths and asphodel at the simple marker along with a single forget-me-not.
Peter Benjamin Parker
August 10, 2001 - September 13, 2024