Stephen still felt that "Sir" sounded much better coming from Peter.
With a sigh, he said, "You know, Peter, even after everything we've been through, I still forget that you're just a kid. Listen—your problems aren't just because of Mysterio. A big part of this is on you."
"You want to live two completely different lives at the same time. That's dangerous. I feel bad that you and your friends didn't get into the college you wanted. But if they rejected you, then go convince them. That's the only thing you should be doing right now."
Outside the screen, Stephen let out a deep sigh. "And that is the issue—he didn't even try to fix it himself. He just ran straight to me… What else can I say? Taking shortcuts rarely leads to good results."
In the video, Stephen had a similar reaction. When he found out that Peter hadn't even talked to the admissions office before coming to ask for a worldwide mind wipe, he was so angry his face turned pale.
"Wait, hold on. Are you telling me… before you came to me—before you asked me to erase everyone's memories—you didn't even call the school to talk about this?"
Peter hesitated but tried to defend himself. "Uh, well… when you're in a situation like mine—"
Stephen wasn't having it.
Without another word, he threw Peter out of the Sanctum.
Yep. He definitely regretted opening that door.
Just then, the video paused, and a new question appeared on the screen:
[Can Spider-Man/Peter Parker, defeat Doctor Strange/ Stephen Strange?"
A: Yes
B: No]
Stephen, already annoyed, narrowed his eyes at the question. "Wait, what? Because I didn't help him, now he wants to fight me?!"
"No way! Absolutely not!"
Peter quickly waved his hands. "Sir—please don't get mad! I—I mean, my future self—I promise, I would never blame you for this. And I definitely wouldn't fight you over it!"
Stephen smirked, waving him off. "Relax, I'm just messing with you. I don't know why we'd be fighting in the future, but either way, you're not beating me."
Even though the Stephen in this timeline hadn't gained any special rewards from the quiz game, he was still a magical prodigy.
Under the Ancient One's teachings, he had fought Dormammu, battled Thanos, and honed his skills as Kamar-Taj's greatest sorcerer. He wasn't quite on the Ancient One's level yet, but he was definitely the strongest mage of his time.
Outside the screen, Stephen was fully confident that future him would put Peter in his place.
Peter, on the other hand, had zero confidence in himself. "So… we pick B?"
Pietro spoke up. "Be careful. Remember the last time we got a question that seemed obvious? The answer ended up being completely unexpected."
Stephen raised an eyebrow. He knew what Pietro was getting at.
But much like Tony, he had a bit of an ego. And after watching all of Peter's mistakes, it was hard not to underestimate him.
After all, he and Peter hadn't fought side by side yet—not like in the future videos. Right now, he only knew this version of Peter from what he'd seen in the quiz game. And this Peter didn't exactly inspire confidence.
So, without hesitation, Stephen said, "We're picking B. Peter doesn't understand magic well enough. I have plenty of ways to beat him."
Pietro just shrugged. "Alright, but just a reminder—we're already in the negatives."
Because they had already gotten two questions wrong—one of them being a failed buzzer attempt—Team B (Stephen, Peter, and Pietro) had sunk to -2 points. If they got this wrong, they'd face a punishment.
Meanwhile, Team A (Erik, Charles, and Logan) wasn't doing much better. They had also gotten the last two questions wrong, leaving them with only 3 points. But at least they were still ahead.
Erik also chose B. He didn't know much about Stephen, but judging from the videos, this flashy magic guy was clearly way stronger than the sometimes-reckless Spider-Man.
When the timer started, both teams locked in their answers.
A won the buzzer.
The timer ran out, and the correct answer was revealed:
[Team A answered incorrectly. Player Erik Lenhenserr, player Charles Xavier, and player Logan Howlett each lose 4 points.]
[Team B answered incorrectly. Player Stephen strange, player Pietro maximoff, and player Peter Parker each lose 1 point.]
"Sh*t!"
Stephen stared at the screen in pure disbelief. He had been so sure.
"Are you KIDDING ME?! I lost to SPIDER-MAN?!"
Before he could process the shock, the next notification popped up.
[Because Team B had now reached -3 points, they are officially in the punishment zone]
Before any of them could react—ZAP!
A crackling surge of electricity zapped through them, sending bright flashes across the room.
And because the Eternal Space suppressed their abilities, even superhuman durability couldn't protect them. The pain hit deep.
In an instant, all three of them were left charred, smoking, and twitching.
Pietro spat out a puff of black smoke. "I told you! This quiz game always tricks us! It shows Peter messing up so we underestimate him—then BAM, trick question! Stephen, you really should've listened to me! I feel like my whole body just got fried!"
Stephen, equally fried, had wild, static-filled hair sticking straight up. His white teeth stood out hilariously against his soot-covered face. "I cannot believe I lost to that kid…"
Peter, surprisingly, was handling it better than the others.
After all—this just proved that future him was strong enough to take down Doctor Strange.
Of course, he wasn't dumb enough to say that out loud. Instead, he just muttered, "Well… at least we didn't win the buzzer. That would've been even worse."
Meanwhile, over on Team A, Erik wasn't faring much better.
Sure, they hadn't been electrocuted, but after two failed buzzer attempts, their once-secure lead had vanished.
And now, the self-proclaimed mastermind who had promised Charles and Logan an easy victory… was now sitting at negative points.
Needless to say, he was not happy.