Peripatetic | TASM!Peter Parker x Reader

23: Multiversal Research

Y/N STARK (6-2-8)

I had been pacing in my room for so long that I was surprised I hadn't worn the carpet away.

How the hell had I remembered? How had I done the impossible and overcome Stephen's spell? How had I remembered Peter? Had my promise to myself to never forget him overcome the magic? It seemed impossible, and yet it had happened.

Did other people remember, or was it just me? Did me remembering everything break the spell for everyone else, or not? No one burst into my room, asking about Peter, so I assumed not. Stephen didn't appear and lecture me, so it must have just been me. Did Stephen remember, since he had cast the spell?

Questions swirled in my mind, one after another, each adding more confusion than the last. I had no answers to the questions, but I knew two people who would. They were across the city, in a magical sanctum.

I had to be smart about this. I couldn't alert them to the fact that I knew, otherwise they might make me forget again, and I wasn't going to risk it. I had to be sly, cunning, to get answers out of them.

I couldn't sleep for the rest of the night, and by the time morning had come, I was buzzing with the need to know. If I went straight to the sanctum at the crack of dawn, they would know something was up, so I went through my normal routine. I trained with Steve and Bucky and had breakfast, and waited all of five minutes before teleporting to the sanctum.

It was just as I remembered, the large doors hiding the magic behind them, and the big window in the roof subtly hinting that this place was not a normal building. I walked up the stairs and raised my hand to knock, but the doors opened before I could do so. The sanctum was much less chaotic this time — the books stacked along the walls were gone, and sorcerers no longer ran around in a panic.

I stepped into the building and the doors closed behind me, causing me to jump a little. I looked around for Stephen and Wong, and after a moment, the two appeared.

"Y/n," Stephen greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"I, um... I have some questions for you," I said as innocently as I could.

The two sorcerers glanced at each other before leading me to another room, full of plush couches and books covering the walls. I sat down across from them, and Wong offered me some tea.

"So... I was just thinking... about the multiverse," I said casually.

Stephen and Wong looked at each other again, before Stephen repeated skeptically, "The multiverse."

"Yeah. You know, you guys just came back from another dimension, and it sounds really cool," I continued, sipping from my cup in order to appear normal and just the right amount of curious.

"There are many different dimensions other than our own," Wong explained. "Worlds that are similar to ours, and others that are vastly different."

I knew this already, but I nodded interestedly. Wong explained the basics to me, none of which was entirely helpful to what I wanted.

"That sounds really cool," I admitted when he finished. "Is there... is there a way to travel to other universes?"

Stephen's eyes narrowed slightly. "We can travel to dimensions that are closely linked to our own, but travelling to different universes is not considered possible to most."

I felt my heart sink, but still I pushed. "But what if there was like... I don't know... a tear or some sort in the multiverse?"

I guess sly and cunning had left the chat.

"Such things are dealt with swiftly," Stephen said sternly.

I nodded and averted my gaze, looking around the room again. Nothing offered me any sort of help, so I decided to ask another question. I was being obvious, but I couldn't help it. I needed to know.

"How do you deal with them? Is there... a sort of spell?" I questioned.

"There is," Wong answered vaguely.

I paused again, before asking, "Do... do people remember these things? Like if some... creature came through and I saw it, would I remember?"

"We tend to cast a memory spell to keep the wrong people from becoming aware of the multiverse," Wong informed me.

I nodded, debating whether I should ask my next question, or if it would blow my cover. But my desire to know was too strong, so I inquired, "Can people... can people break this memory spell?"

Once again, Stephen and Wong looked at each other, and I was worried I'd given myself away. Stephen turned to me again, wariness and suspicion in his eyes. Maybe if I teleported away, he'd never find me, and forget I asked. Maybe I'd have to figure out how to cast that memory spell.

"Why do you ask?"

I swallowed, slightly nervous, before channelling my inner Tony Stark. Whenever in doubt, baffle them with my confidence, no matter how fake it was.

"I bet I could break it," I said cockily, leaning back and dangling an arm over the back of my chair.

Stephen rolled his eyes and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "You are just like your father," but Wong chuckled.

"The spell cannot be broken by any other than the sorcerer who cast it," Wong revealed.

My heart sank, but I nodded anyway. I knew I couldn't ask any more questions without them both becoming even more suspicious, so I wrapped up the conversation and bid them both goodbye. I left the sanctum and walked down the sidewalk. I couldn't walk all the way home (well, I could, but it would take an hour), but I needed to clear my head, and think about what the sorcerers had told me.

None of the information was entirely helpful. I already knew most of what they told me, which, admittedly, wasn't much. And the fact that they were so sure that the spell could not have been broken only raised more questions. Did Stephen cast it wrong? Did he send Peter to the wrong world? Fear chilled my blood as I thought of him in another world, with no idea where he was or how to return to his own.

I had no idea how to get to him. They were both so stern in their warning to not mess with the multiverse, even if they had never explicitly said it. I knew they wouldn't help me invent any sort of multiversal jet, and I had no idea where to start. Tears pricked my eyes, and I teleported to my room before bursting into tears. I lay down on my bed, choking on sobs, and getting my pillow wet.

Why me? Why did I have to fall in love with someone from another universe? I knew it had been a bad idea from the beginning — that was why I had initially pushed Peter away. With the realisation of knowing I'd always remember him but never see him again, my breathing started coming out quick and sharp. Would it always hurt like this? I felt as though it would, that I would never escape this crushing feeling.

I just wished I could see him again, if only one last time. I closed my eyes, thinking of Peter, of the memories we'd made. I sniffled and rolled over, right into another person.

WORDS: 1.2K

NOTE: things get pretty interesting from here