Hey patrons, I need your help.

Specifically, if any of you guys are experienced welders. Without giving too much away about what I'm working on...potential spoiler alert, read on at your own peril! 😂 I am fixing a crack in a thick piece of metal. There are 2 pieces of metal welded together, one 1" (25mm) and one 1/2" (12.5mm). The 1" piece cracked but it didn't extend into the 1/2" piece. I gouged out the entire crack, about 8" long (200mm), and beveled it for welding. Unfortunately I forgot to brace it and after welding the whole thing up I realized that it pulled, causing a bend of about 1/4", maybe 3/8" (6-8mm). So here's the question, what are my repair options? Obviously, I could gouge it out again, straighten and brace it, and then re-weld it. That would take most of a day probably. Or could I just heat it up good and hot with the oxy torch and use a porta-power to bend it back to the proper position? My concern with this option is that it might make cracking again the future very likely. A friend of mine who is a welder said heating and bending like this is done all the time, and that it should last just fine. Thoughts? And thanks for your input. I just don't want to do a mediocre job and end up having to fix it again later.