[Spider-Man was about to say something when suddenly there was a loud "bang" from above, and Doctor Strange slowly descended from the upper levels of the Sanctum, floating gracefully through the air with a steaming cup of coffee in his hand. He said with his characteristic sarcasm, "It's because someone forgot to cast the reinforcement spell to strengthen the dimensional seal!"]
[However, as he attempted to land smoothly, he almost slipped and fell on the snowy floor, his arms windmilling wildly to maintain balance. In that instant, his carefully cultivated image of a composed mystical master disappeared without a trace, replaced by a very human moment of clumsiness.]
[Wong put his hands on his hips, his expression remaining completely unchanged and unimpressed. "He really did forget! Because he forgot that I have far more important responsibilities now!" Wong said with deadpan delivery.]
[Strange glanced at the accumulating snow behind him and frowned in confusion. "What more important responsibilities could you possibly have?"]
["The Sorcerer Supreme has more important responsibilities than cleaning up after dimensional accidents!" Wong glanced at him with cool indifference.]
[Spider-Man looked between them in surprise, processing this unexpected information. "Wait! I thought you were the Sorcerer Supreme!"]
["No! Technically, he is now! Because I disappeared for five years during the Blip!" Strange smiled ruefully and took a careful sip of his coffee, steam rising from the cup in the cold air.]
[Spider-Man's eyes widened in realization. "Oh! Well! Congratulations!" he said to Wong, though he wasn't entirely sure if congratulations were appropriate for such a mystical promotion.]
[Strange continued with a slight edge to his voice: "If I had been here all along during those five years! I would definitely have..."]
[Before he could finish defending himself, Wong interrupted with practical authority: "You would have burned this entire place down! Now you two! Don't just stand there talking! Help shovel this snow before it damages the ancient artifacts!"]
[Strange rolled his eyes dramatically but began to comply. Then he turned his attention to their unexpected visitor: "So! Peter, what brings you to the New York Sanctum Sanctorum?"]
[He began walking toward the back staircase, his Cloak of Levitation helping him navigate around the larger snow drifts.]
[Spider-Man suddenly remembered his desperate purpose and hurriedly followed him, but he also slipped slightly on the icy patches and almost fell. "Right! Sorry to bother you! Sir!" he said, steadying himself against a snow-covered mystical artifact.]
[Hearing Spider-Man's overly formal politeness, Strange waved dismissively. "Please! After saving half of the universe together in the battle against Thanos! It's far too strange to still call me 'sir'!"]
[As he spoke, he walked to the ornate fireplace and waved his arms in a complex mystical gesture. The firewood inside immediately sparked to life, flames dancing and providing much-needed warmth to combat the Siberian cold.]
[Spider-Man readily agreed, relieved to drop the formality. "Okay! So! Stephen!"]
[Strange blinked at the sudden familiarity, a small smile playing at his lips. "It feels weird hearing you say my first name, but I can definitely accept it!"]
["Uh..." Spider-Man hesitated, clearly embarrassed to voice his request. After a long moment of internal struggle, he finally said, "At that time... when Mysterio exposed my secret identity to the world, my entire life was completely ruined! So I had an idea..."]
["Actually, I don't know if this idea can even be realized! But I was thinking... maybe you could use your magic to go back to the past and make sure none of this ever happened!"]
[Strange looked at Spider-Man with a mixture of understanding and concern. "Peter... in order to save all of humanity from Thanos! We seriously disrupted the stability of time and space itself! The consequences were nearly catastrophic! Now you want to risk doing it again just because your personal life isn't going the way you hoped?"]
["It's not just because of me!" Spider-Man said desperately, his voice cracking with emotion. "This incident has really hurt so many innocent people! My Aunt May is being harassed by reporters! Happy is being investigated by the government! My best friend Ned and my girlfriend MJ - just because of knowing me, their entire futures are ruined! They can't get into college, they can't live normal lives! They didn't even do anything wrong!"]
[Strange's expression softened with sympathy, but he shook his head regretfully. "I am truly sorry, Peter! But... even if I desperately wanted to help you... I don't have the Time Stone anymore! It was destroyed along with all the other Infinity Stones!"]
["That's right!" Spider-Man's face fell as he remembered that all the Infinity Stones had been destroyed by Thanos in his final act, and all the stones they had borrowed from the past were dutifully returned to prevent timeline disruptions.]
Although deeply disappointed, Spider-Man still managed to say politely, "I'm really sorry for wasting your time! Just... forget I asked!" He turned around dejectedly and began walking toward the door.
[Strange called after him, shaking his head. "No! You didn't waste my time at all!"]
[Wong came over wearing his heavy winter coat, carrying supplies, and couldn't resist teasing Strange: "Oh, he'll definitely forget about it! Stephen here is simply the undisputed master of forgetfulness!"]
[Strange's eyes suddenly lit up with inspiration, and he pointed excitedly at Wong. "Wong! You brilliant man! You just gave me the perfect solution!"]
[Wong paused, holding two mystical storage boxes, and looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"]
[Strange turned to Spider-Man with growing excitement. "Forgetfulness!"]
["Forgetfulness?" Spider-Man repeated, his face scrunched up in puzzlement.]
[Strange began explaining rapidly, his hands gesturing as his mind raced: "It's called a basic Runes of Kof-Kol forgetfulness spell! It can't reverse time or change what actually happened! But it can make people forget that you're Spider-Man! Everyone in the world would forget the connection between Peter Parker and Spider-Man!"]
[Spider-Man's eyes lit up with the first real hope he'd felt in weeks. "Really? That could actually work?"]
[Wong immediately stepped forward with stern warning after hearing this dangerous suggestion: "NO! Absolutely not! That particular spell wanders on the dark border between the known and unknown mystical realms! The risks are far too great! One mistake could tear holes in reality itself!"]
[Strange looked at Wong with mild exasperation. "Didn't we use it successfully before? Remember that full moon party incident at Kamar-Taj when the acolytes got a little too enthusiastic with their celebrations?"]
[Wong squinted at him suspiciously, trying to recall the event. "I... don't remember that at all!"]
[Strange grinned triumphantly. "Exactly! That's because the spell worked perfectly!"]
[As soon as Wong heard this, he realized that Strange must have used the forgetfulness spell on him without his knowledge. He gave Strange a fierce, betrayed glare that could have melted steel.]
["Come on, Wong! Look at this kid - he's suffered enough! His entire world has been turned upside down through no fault of his own!"]
[Wong looked into Strange's determined eyes, then glanced at Spider-Man's desperate, hopeful expression. After a long moment of internal debate, a golden portal suddenly appeared behind him. "Fine! Just don't involve me in whatever chaos this inevitably causes!"]
[After delivering his warning, Wong stepped through the portal and disappeared, leaving only sparkling mystical residue behind.]
[Seeing that Wong had given his reluctant approval by not actively stopping them, Strange nodded with satisfaction. "Alright then!"]
[After the portal completely faded away, Strange looked at Spider-Man with a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth, the firelight reflecting off his mystical amulet.]
"So this is Strange?" It was the first time that 1st Gen Spider-Man and 2nd Gen Spider-Man had seen what the Sorcerer Supreme looked like through the screen. Although he had lost some dignity points because of his clumsy slip on the snow, there was no doubt that he still perfectly fit the image of a powerful and mysterious wizard.
"How on earth did he do any of that? Flying, moving objects with his mind, creating fire from nothing - this can't be explained by any known science!" 2nd Gen Gwen looked at the sentient cloak and the flames that appeared out of thin air, shaking her head in complete bewilderment.
"Everyone has their own special abilities! There are all kinds of wonders in this vast multiverse!" 2nd Gen Spider-Man was relatively accepting of the unscientific nature of magic and didn't let it bother him too much. After all, even according to the screen's revelations, his own transformation into Spider-Man wasn't a random coincidence, but rather a predetermined necessity.
"Who exactly is this Wong character? He's actually the Sorcerer Supreme now?" Wong was a complete stranger to most of them. They had never seen him before or even heard his name mentioned in any previous footage.
Because of the screen's previous focus on Strange, they had developed a preconceived notion that he would definitely be the Sorcerer Supreme, so Wong's sudden authority came as a genuine surprise.
Tony shook the melting ice cubes in his glass and poured himself another measure of whiskey, his expression thoughtful and concerned.
"I've always believed that magic is fundamentally unreliable and unpredictable. I have this nagging feeling that Peter and Strange are going to get themselves into serious trouble if they use this mystical approach to solve what's essentially a public relations problem! There has to be a more technological solution..."
Scott seemed to have made a connection to something familiar: "The Oblivion Spell! It sounds remarkably similar to that memory-erasing device used by the agents in Men in Black to wipe people's memories, except this magical version apparently has global coverage area!"
Captain America hadn't seen the movie Scott was referencing, so he couldn't understand the comparison, but he made a mental note to ask about it later.
"Men in Black? But judging from Wong's serious warning, this spell carries significant dangers. I just hope Strange knows what he's doing and won't let us down!"
"He shouldn't mess it up! From what I've seen, Strange seems quite competent and reliable!" Rhodes said, recalling his several previous encounters with the mystical doctor during various Avengers missions.