The Negative Zone is a dangerous place. When it came into existence, it had nothing. Just antimatter. Eventually, creatures took up residence there! Life is typically benevolent and loving, but the craters of the Negative Zone hold a thousand perils…
Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch were floating above the ground, leading a few of the Children of Ootah through the Negative Zone to their civilization after they had become separated. Typically, the sorcerers could teleport right to the spot, being two of Earth's most powerful heroes, but being in another dimension altered their powers (not to mention, one of the Children they were escorting claimed to be allergic to teleportation). "Down there!" Wanda exclaimed, pointing to a stretch of fog-covered rocky land, much like Earth's very moon. "Quite the biblical homage, eh, Scarlet Witch?" Doctor Strange asked, looking over his shoulder at the group they were leading. "Stephen!" She chuckled and elbowed him in the ribs.
Hours of walking seemed to go by, with Doctor Strange occasionally checking their enchanted map to figure out where they were, and if they were heading in the right direction. Then! All of a sudden, the ground began to rumble beneath them! "What's happening?!"One of the Children cried out. They began to murmur and panic. "Children of Ootah, get back! Behind that boulder!" Scarlet Witch exclaimed, throwing a force field over the boulder, where they cowered in fear. She landed next to Strange, and from the crater came a monster…
The monster seemed to go on forever, until its entirety emerged from its crater. It was an enormous, green, scaly creature with a yellow stomach, red eyes, and gargantuan claws. "Doctor, what is that terrible thing?!" Wanda exclaimed, eyes wide. "Truly a sight to behold!" Strange replied. Their eyes met, and they smirked. They had taken on worse before, after all, they were the most powerful sorcerers on Earth!
"My hex power will stop it!" Wanda's hands glowed magneta and she fired her hex bolts at a cliff over the monster, bringing the debris down onto its head. The monster let out a roar to rival the Hulk's, and swung his hand toward her, attempting to claw the Mutant, who merely phased through it. From its other side, the monster felt something hit it. It was a sharp, burning pain. Strange had created an energy shield and flung it at the monster. "I've got to write Captain America a thank-you note for that trick!" He raised his yellow-gloved hands over his head and made a gesture. "MONSTER! If you do not want to leave us be, I will have no choice but to use force!" The monster's red eyes lit up, and he shot fire out of them, giving everything an orange glow. Strange only had a moment to think of a spell. Luckily, being the Sorcerer Supreme, he didn't require much time. He met eyes with Scarlet Witch, who nodded and made the same gesture. "Face the Icy Tendrils of Ikthalon!" They both shouted. Thrown backward by the force of their spell, an enormous ice beam shot from their hands, extinguishing the monster's fire and encasing the creature in a coating of ice.
The two sorcerers flew down to the force field which housed the Children of Ootah. "Children! Are you alright?" They nodded and cheered for them, making the pair smile. "C'mon, we've got a long journey ahead of us." All seemed well, and they were ready to continue their journey when…The monster's eyes lit up, and the ice melted. The great green thing bolted toward them. Doctor Strange dashed to the front of the group, his hands illuminated purple, a large shield between them. "If you touch them, I will erase you from existence!" He declared in a magically amplified voice, booming with protectiveness and rage. The monster raised its hands in the air and slammed them to the ground. Wanda and the Children lost their footing and fell, but Strange?
The poor doctor was launched into the air, and seemed to disappear on an upper cliff. "STRANGE!" Exclaimed Wanda, dashing upward and flying all around the monster, firing hex bolts at it. Her eyes widened. The monster opened its mouth and screeched! The sound came in the form of white rings, and it was enough to make Wanda's ears ring and knock her out. The witch fell into the vastness of the Negative Zone, falling like a corpse.
Sometime later…
The Scarlet Witch was exhausted, starving. "I've been in here for lord knows how long...I've managed to fight off these creatures so far but I can barely cast a spell now." She said weakly, her head hanging. Her hair was a mess, the ends singed off from a creature who had fire abilities. Her costume was damaged to the point where her legs were almost completely exposed, save for some remaining pink at the bottom. The red 'bathing suit', as Deadpool called it, was torn right cross her stomach, her gloves were fingerless, and her tiara was cracked. She was using all her energy just to keep herself alive. As she came cross a grassy knoll floating, she sat down, and yelped in pain, clutching her side. "Cracked ribs." Wanda muttered. Then, picking up her head, through her blurry vision, she saw it. "No…it can't be." She pushed off the knoll and floated upward toward a hexagonal metal gateway with a black-and-yellow door. Wanda's heart skipped a beat, which probably was not a great thing, considering her state, when she realized what it was. "Home." She said, hope in her voice. It was the Negative Zone portal in the lab of Avengers Mansion. Wanda pressed her hands hard into the door, but it wouldn't budge. "Can't phase through it…well, it's worth a try." The witch took a deep breath and used the last of her energy in one last move. The door glowed blood red, and a red trail snaked throughout the house, into all the rooms.
"I'd rather sink than call BRAD for help!" The woman on TV exclaimed. "WHAT?!" Hawkeye jumped up from the couch, his bowl of popcorn flying off his lap. "Brad's a sailor, Jack is just a doctor!" He yelled at the soap opera. Then, on his purple boot, he felt something slightly ticklish. "JARVIS, your vacuum is on my-" He looked down and saw that it wasn't a vacuum, it was a glowing red line. "Foot?" Clint raised an eyebrow behind his cowl and grabbed his quiver form the couch. "Better take this in case of trouble." He looked around distrustfully, lips pursed in classic Hawkeye fashion. The archer followed the trail down to the lab, and turned on the light. "Iron Man? Banner? Giant-Man?" He called, but there was no answer. Instead, he saw the glow on the Negative Zone gateway. "Please, don't be a dragon." He punched the green 'open' button and the gateway opened to reveal a swirling blue portal.
Scarlet Witch felt an overwhelming sense of relief when the door finally opened, its distinctive hiss music to her ears. "YES!" She croaked, poking her head through the portal and grabbing onto the edge of it to pull herself forward. "Hi Clint...it's good to be back." With that, she passed out.
"Scarlet Witch! What are you doing in there?" He hooked his hands under her arms and pulled her the rest of the way out, slamming the red 'close' button. Hawkeye carried Wanda upstairs, laid her on her bed, and pulled up a chair. The archer did have a heart, after all! He nodded off to sleep eventually. They'll both need the sleep, for tomorrow holds adventure…