Spider-Man: No Way Home [6]

5

Coldplay was playing on the radio and Astra bobbed her head to the music as she finished up an assignment, when there was a loud whoosh, similar to one of those magical portals she couldn't really remember where they came from. She had a purple blast ready in her hand in defense.

"You know, if you listen to dramatic music while studying, the lyrics might mess with your thought process and your long term memory," said a strangely familiar voice.

Astra lowered her hand as the ball of purple disappeared. "Dr. Strange? What are you doing here? Can't you knock?"

He sighed in annoyance. "Look, what I have to tell you is way more important than your little privacy invasion. We need your help."

"Who's 'we?'" Astra demanded.

New York Sanctum Sanctorum

"Whoa," said Ned in awe. "I can't believe I'm in the Sanctum Sanctorum!"

"Neither can I," said Dr. Strange as he led him, Astra, and MJ through the Sanctum.

"So how did you know you were a man of magic?" Ned continued. "Because my nana says that we have it in our family, and sometimes I get these tinglings in my hands-"

"You should talk to your physician," Dr. Strange told him.

"Peter!" Astra spotted her boyfriend standing beside the large staircase. She ran up to him and engulfed him in a hug.

"Hey," said Peter. "Sorry for dragging you into this, you've just got to help me find those guys."

"There's no need to apologize," Astra reassured him. "You got us a second shot at MIT, it's totally fine!" She shrugged. "I've dealt with worse, we'll fix this quickly and get on with life, no need to feel bad about it."

"So how did the bad guys get here?" Ned asked.

"We screwed up a spell trying to get you into college," Strange responded as he walked up the staircase.

"Wait, what?" said MJ.

"You did it with magic?" Ned asked.

"I thought it was the MIT lady you saved," Astra said, confused.

"No, that was after," Peter told her. "Listen, let's just focus on the good news, okay?"

"No, let's just focus on the bad news," Strange told them from the second landing. "As of now, you have detected zero multiversal trespassers, so get on your phones, scour the internet, and Scooby-Doo this shit."

MJ scoffed. "You're telling us what to do even though it's your spell that got screwed up, meaning that all of this is kind of your mess. You know, I know a couple of magic words yourself, starting with the word 'please.'"

"Yeah, you could at least help us, maybe give us some pointers," Astra added, crossing her arms. "Please." She gave Strange a sarcastic smile.

"Please Scooby-Doo this shit," Strange finally said after a few moments of silence. "You can work in the undercroft." He walked away.

"The undercroft?" Ned said, awestruck.

The four friends ventured downstairs and into a small, dark space. Ned switched on the lightbulb to reveal a dimly lit workspace with a couple tables and shelves crammed with old tools.

"Badass," said Ned. He went to one of the tables to check out the old projects.

"Guys, about this whole spell thing-" Peter began.

"It's totally okay," MJ said.

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah, I mean, I get it," Astra told him.