[The Statue of Liberty. The Scaffolding. Night.]
The wind howled off the harbor, rattling the massive copper shield that was being installed on Lady Liberty.
Sebastian Michaelis stood on the highest platform, his black coat whipping in the gale. He held the Box of Kadavus (the spell) in one hand.
"It is windy," Sebastian shouted over the roar. "And remarkably unsafe. OSHA would have a field day."
Below him, the three Spider-Men swung into position.
"Okay guys!" Tom's Peter yelled. "Focus! Cure them, send them home!"
"I love you guys!" Andrew's Peter yelled.
"Thank you!" Tobey's Peter yelled back.
"Focus!" Sebastian snapped.
[The Ambush]
The sky lit up. Yellow lightning arced from the clouds.
BOOM.
Electro materialized, hovering in the air. "You think you can cure me? I'm pure energy!"
Sandman rose from the bay, a massive titan of grit. The Lizard crawled up the scaffolding.
"It's showtime!" Electro blasted the scaffolding.
The metal groaned and buckled.
"Go!" Sebastian threw the Box to Ned, who was hiding in the inner crown with MJ. "Keep it safe!"
Sebastian drew his silver knives. He didn't have webs. He didn't need them.
He jumped.
He landed on the Lizard's back. The reptile roared, trying to shake him off.
"You need a moisturizer," Sebastian quipped, driving a knife into the Lizard's shoulder to steer him away from Tom.
[The Goblin Arrives]
The cures were working. Doc Ock (cured) was helping. Electro was de-powered by Tony's Arc Reactor device. Sandman turned back into a man.
They were winning.
Then, a high-pitched cackle cut through the storm.
"Can the Spider come out to play?!"
The Green Goblin burst through the smoke on his glider. He didn't aim for the Spiders. He aimed for the box.
BOOM.
A pumpkin bomb hit the crown of the Statue.
The scaffolding collapsed. The Box of Kadavus fell. Ned and MJ screamed as the floor beneath them disintegrated.
[The Catch]
They fell.
MJ plummeted toward the churning water below. Ned tumbled, flailing, toward the jagged rocks.
Tom's Peter dove for MJ. The Goblin slammed his glider into him, knocking him off course.
"MJ!" Tom screamed.
Andrew's Peter saw her. He saw the moment replay—Gwen falling in the clock tower. He wouldn't let it happen again. He dove.
At the same time, Sebastian saw Ned falling.
The Wizard's friend, Sebastian thought. The portal opener.
Sebastian didn't dive like a hero. He dropped like a stone. He streamlined his body, accelerating past the falling debris.
Andrew caught MJ. He landed softly, tears in his eyes. "I got you."
Sebastian caught Ned by the back of his varsity jacket just feet above the rocks.
THUD.
Sebastian landed in a crouch, the impact cracking the concrete beneath him. He held Ned suspended in the air.
"I have you, Mr. Leeds," Sebastian said, unbothered.
"Oh my god," Ned hyperventilated. "I thought I was gonna die. I thought I was gonna be a pancake."
"You are surprisingly dense," Sebastian set him down. "Do more cardio."
He looked up. The Box.
Doctor Strange (who had escaped the Mirror Dimension) caught the Box with his cloak. But the spell was destabilizing.
[The Gatekeeper]
High above, the sky cracked open.
Purple rifts tore through the fabric of reality. The Multiverse was bleeding in.
Doctor Strange struggled to hold the rifts closed. "I can't hold it! They're coming through!"
Sebastian looked up. He didn't just see the silhouettes of Rhino or Scorpion.
He smelled something else.
Through the cracks in the purple sky, he saw eyes. Red eyes. Shadowy wings. Creatures from dimensions where humanity was food.
Demons.
The breach was acting as a beacon for every dark entity in the Multiverse.
"Doctor!" Sebastian yelled, leaping up the scaffolding with inhuman agility. "Focus on the spell! I will handle the guests!"
Sebastian reached the torch of the Statue of Liberty. He stood at the very apex of the monument.
A massive, winged shadow creature tried to squeeze through a rift near the torch.
"Oh no you don't," Sebastian growled.
His form shifted. The black coat expanded, turning into jagged, shadow-wings. His boots became claws. His eyes glowed a blinding fuchsia.
He jumped at the rift.
He punched the inter-dimensional demon in the face, knocking it back into its own universe.
"This world is closed!" Sebastian roared at the sky.
Another entity—a mass of tentacles—tried to grab the torch. Sebastian sliced them off with a wave of dark energy.
He stood there, a tiny black silhouette against the purple apocalypse, fighting back the monsters that tried to cross the threshold. The Gatekeeper of Earth-616.
[The Cure]
Below him, the final drama played out.
Tom's Peter held the glider over the Goblin. He wanted to kill him for May. Tobey's Peter stopped him. Goblin stabbed Tobey. Tom cured the Goblin.
Norman Osborn collapsed, the madness fading from his eyes. "What... what have I done?"
[The Spell]
"Sebastian!" Strange yelled from the floating rock. "Get down! I have to cast it!"
"Cast it!" Sebastian yelled back, kicking a gargoyle back into the void.
"Everyone has to forget!" Strange cried. "Everyone! Including us! It's the only way to seal the rifts!"
Sebastian froze.
Everyone.
He looked down at the boy in the red and blue suit, holding his bleeding "brother."
Sebastian jumped down, landing beside Strange.
"Do it," Sebastian said. "The memory is a small price for his life."
"Go say goodbye," Strange said softly.
Sebastian walked over to Peter (Tom).
Peter was crying, hugging MJ and Ned. He pulled away as Sebastian approached.
"You too?" Peter asked, wiping his eyes. "You're gonna forget me?"
Sebastian looked at the boy. He remembered the kid on the spaceship. The kid in the dust on Titan. The kid who brought three Spiders together.
"The spell is absolute, Master Parker," Sebastian said.
Peter nodded, devastated. "Okay. It's okay. Thank you, Seb. For everything."
Sebastian leaned in close.
"Do not worry about being forgotten," Sebastian whispered, his voice low enough that Strange couldn't hear. "Some things are written in ink that cannot be erased."
Peter looked up, confused. "What?"
"Go," Sebastian stepped back.
Peter swung away into the night.
[The Lie]
Strange finished the chant.
"This is gonna hurt," Strange warned.
FLASH.
A wave of blinding white light washed over the world.
The purple rifts sealed. The demons vanished. The villains faded away, returning to their timelines cured. Andrew and Tobey vanished with a smile.
The light hit Sebastian.
He felt the magic try to invade his mind. It was a powerful spell—designed to rewrite the neural pathways of every living being on Earth. It sought to erase the concept of "Peter Parker."
Sebastian closed his eyes.
I am not a living being, Sebastian thought. I am a concept. I am a void. I am a contract.
He pushed back. He didn't fight the spell outwardly; he just... sidestepped it. He tucked the memory of Peter Parker into the same dark corner of his soul where he kept his true name.
The light passed.
[The Aftermath]
Sebastian stood on the torch of the Statue of Liberty. It was quiet. Snow began to fall.
Doctor Strange floated down next to him. He looked exhausted.
"Rough night," Strange said, rubbing his temples.
"Indeed," Sebastian adjusted his coat. "Why are we on a statue, Doctor?"
Strange looked at the city. He looked confused for a second.
"We fixed a mistake," Strange said. "A big one. Something to do with... Spider-Man."
"Spider-Man," Sebastian repeated, testing the name. "The masked vigilante?"
"Yes," Strange nodded. "Though I can't remember who he is under the mask. Must have been part of the deal."
Strange looked at Sebastian closely.
"What about you, Demon? Do you remember?"
Sebastian looked at the empty spot where Peter had swung away. He felt the memory sitting there, warm and intact.
He turned to Strange and smiled—a perfect, butler's smile.
"Remember whom, Doctor?"
Strange sighed. "Good. The spell worked. Let's go home. The Sanctum is a mess."
"I shall prepare the tea," Sebastian said.
He turned to follow the Wizard, his hand brushing against his pocket, where he had secretly stashed the Stark micro-chip he found on the scaffolding.
A secret, Sebastian thought as he walked into the portal, is simply a truth that has learned to be quiet.
[End of Chapter 63]
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