CHAPTER TWO:

SAID THE SPIDER

TO THE FLY

A/N Honestly? Wasn't expecting this to get that many reads.

THERE WAS DEATH HERE. A lot of death.

Wanda could feel it.

She found herself trailing a lot of Beacon Hill residents, lately. That has led her to find some... unsettling, discoveries.

A horde of dead wolves was the first thing she found. Every single time she had stepped foot into this odd little town she made a new discovery. And honestly? She hated it.

She had watched lacrosse practice from the bleachers— Wanda had changed her clothes, no longer standing out like a sore thumb. She felt bad for messing with the cashiers' mind in order to get them.

Maybe it was just her luck that the strange boy from the library was here, standing on the outskirts of the field, seeming to be mid-argument with the coach.

From Wanda could hear, it was about a player that was currently missing-in-action.

She watched as the said player ran onto the field. She watched him catch the ball in his net before it had the chance to hit some poor kid in the face.

She watched as the kid was tackled, hitting the ground with a hard thud. She watched as the library boy ran forward, talking to the younger one, covering his head.

Wanda's eyes narrowed. The younger one was freaking out. She read the name on the back of his jersey, Dunbar.

"McCall!" The coach yelled. At least she had a last name. "What the hell was that? That wasn't a foul— that's called winning!"

Dunbar calmed down, standing up with McCall. Wanda was the first one to notice the bloody, injured wolf wandered into the field.

The players grew tense, leaning in and whispering to each other. Wanda stood up, ready to use her powers if needed. She hated the thought of making her presence in this world known, but she wasn't also very keen to the idea of letting a bunch of high schoolers die to a wolf.

Wanda watched McCall have an intense staring contest with the wolf. The wolf eventually backed down, limping into the woods. The rest of the team left for the locker room, McCall and Dunbar slipping into the woods, unnoticed.

Unnoticed by everyone but Wanda, of course.

Were they insane?

What was with American boys and their crazy death wish? Wanda thought back to her teammates— old, team mates, Wanda reminded herself— Steve, flying a plane into the Arctic, Tony, flying a nuclear bomb through a wormhole. And Clint charging head first into a battle with deadly robots with just a bow and arrow.

Although, Wanda thought, Clint's constant teasing of Natasha was enough to show off that that man did not fear death.

But he might as well have been dead now. She hated that she didn't know what had happened to him, or any of her teammates.

Did they avenge them? Did they avenge her?

Wanda shook the thought from her head. She blinked, realizing that McCall and Dunbar had disappeared into the tree line. Wanda cursed herself for not paying attention, and for losing track of the boys.

Wanda cursing herself, decided on following them. She got up from the bleachers, observing her surroundings— everyone who was practicing had retired to the locker rooms. She slipped into the forest behind the field, trailing McCall and Dunbar.

Wanda trailed for along enough behind the boys, making sure they didn't notice her— using her powers to hide her presence.

"Do you think it's a wolf-wolf or...?" Dunbar asked, his question making Wanda's eyebrows shoot up. What did he mean?

"I think it's just a wolf," McCall assured, although Wanda could tell he didn't seem so sure himself. They began reaching the point where Wanda had found the horde of dead wolves. Wanda fell behind, hiding behind a tree. This would be enough to turn them around.

They come to an abrupt stop, silent— staring at the body of a dead wolf. Wanda watched with disgust as hundreds of tiny black spiders crawled out of its eye sockets.

"Scott..." Dunbar said, nudging McCall. Scott. Scott McCall, huh?

Dunbar gestured toward the pit of dead wolves, a mixed look of disgust and concern crawling up on his face.

Well, Wanda thought, thinking of all the spiders, that was rather disgusting.

"THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE," Liam was helping Scott close his overstuffed suitcase, their combined werewolf strength not cutting it, unfortunately. Scott was starting to think that maybe he should've packed two suitcases.

"Whatever happened..." Liam grunted, pushing. "with those wolves— was definitely supernatural."

"Well," Scott said, with a final push, latching the suitcase shut. "I wouldn't say definitely. It could've been a parasitic infection. I mean, we get dogs coming to the clinic with bot flies coming out of their skin."

Liam was not reassured, his face twisting in disgust. "Can that happen to people?"

"Yeah, they crawl under their skin," Scott said, lifting the closed suitcase on his bed, sitting down next to it. "lay some eggs, and eventually they—" the suitcase exploded, Scott groaning. "burst."

Liam was equally frustrated, sitting next to him.

"So do you wanna talk about it?" Scott asked." Liam looked at Scott, confused.

"I thought we were talking about it?"

Scott shook his head."No, that's not what I'm talking about."

Liam's eyes widened in realization. "Oh. That. Me." He chuckled, anxiously.

Scott sighed. "Yeah, you. Your fangs, your fangs, your growl."

Liam smiled nervously at Scott, the alpha staring at his beta intently. "It's not that we've gotta talk about this."

"You've just gotta remember your mantra," Scott said. "What three things cannot be hidden?"

Liam groaned "Look, I haven't had to use that in—"

"What three things cannot long be hidden?" Scott repeated.

Liam sighed, impatiently. "The sun, the moon, the truth."

Scott nodded. "Again."

Liam took a deep breath and closed his eyes before repeating the mantra.

"The sun... The moon... The truth..."

Scott focused his hearing on Liams heart beat, listening to it slow down. His beta calmed down.

"Now what's bothering you?" Scott did a double take, staring at his beta.

"I— what?"

Liam laughed. "There's been something bothering you for the past few days. What is it?"

Scott groaned, he couldn't lie to his beta. But he also didn't want Liam to think Scott was being silly. "There was this girl... at the library the other day."

Liam raised his eyebrows. "Girl? I thought you had this weird thing going with Malia?"

Scott shot up, glaring at Liam. "What? No— at least I don't think so. It was nothing like that— anyway!" He three his hands up. "I caught her scent— and it wasn't human. Wasn't wolf. Wasn't coyote or banshee or anything like that. And I'm not sure what to make of it. And today— when we were in the woods? I could sense her. I could smell her. But it was like she wasn't even there— like a ghost."

"Have you tried tracking her?" Liam asked, now curious about this mystery girl.

Scott frowned. "Well— no, not really. I've been busy packing, I haven't really given it a thought. But I do have," He rummaged through his pocket, pulling out a red, leather glove. "this."

Liam stood, taking the glove . "I'll you track her for you tomorrow then."

Scott shook his head. "No— I can't ask you to do that Liam."

"You worry about packing. I got this." He said, confidently. He turned his attention to the disaster of the suitcase. "You don't have another suitcase, do you?"

Scott pulled something off his shelf, holding it up, defeated. "I got duct tape!"

WANDA SAT IN THE CLEARING, LEGS CROSSED. Her eyes shut, taking long, deep breaths. She loved meditating— it helped keep her and her powers in sync. Calmed her down in the worst of times.

This would be considered the worst of times, unfortunately.

Because Wanda was really starting to dislike this strange universe she was in— it was all so wrong. The energy was off. The homesickness had hit her like a bulletproof. She missed Natashas scolding and Steve's warm hugs. Sam and Bucky's bickering. Bloody hell, she even missed Tony and his stupid goatee.

And now none of them existed. If she could only find a way to get back to her—

Wanda's eyes snapped open, sensing two beings approaching her. Wanda quickly got to her feet, agitated that she was disrupted.

Wanda narrowed her eyes, seeing that it was Dunbar and a boy she didn't recognize approaching her.

"Ah hah!" Dunbar exclaimed, pointing his finger at her, looking at his companion. "Told you she was real?"

"Congrats," His friend said nervously, eyeing Wanda with wariness. "She exists! Can we leave now?"

Dunbar stepped closer, ignoring his friend. "What are you?" He asked, his head inclined.

Wanda tilted her head, curiously. "I beg your pardon?"

The companion was alarmed, glancing at Dunbar. "Is that a Russian accent?"

Wanda scowled, crossing her arms. She hated being mistaken for those damn Soviets. "Sokovian."

"Sokovi— what?" Dunbar asked, dumbfounded. Right, Sokovia doesn't exist here. She missed her home country so much. She missed her universe even more.

"Sokovian." Wanda repeated.

"Alright," Dunbar shrugged, seeming to not believe her, but didn't want to push her further. "What are you?"

Wanda pondered for a moment, deciding to play dumb. "Were you not listening to me? I said I'm Sokovian—"

The boy shook his head. "No, I mean, what are you?"

Oh.

Wanda stood for a moment, pondering for an answer. She didn't really have an answer to give him— because, well she didn't know. Strucker had

always referred to her and Pietro as his miracles. His precious experiments.

Wanda thought back to her first appearance as an Avenger; what the public labeled her. Scarlet Witch. She never considered herself a witch—her powers weren't magic. Her powers were her. She didn't chant spells or light candles or cast hexes. She wasn't a witch.

But she didn't have a better word for it. And they didn't know that, did that?

"I'm a witch." Wanda stated, confidently. "What are you?" She narrowed her eyes, pondering as to how this boy figured out she was something different. To show proof, she twirled her fingers, the red mist dancing around them like fire on a candle. The mist faded into nothingness as soon as it appeared.

"I— human! I am very much a human!" Dunbar's friend stated, his hand shooting up. Dunbar shook his head, amused. "I'm also Mason." He said awkwardly.

Dunbar realized it was his turn for an explanation. "Oh— werewolf." Wanda narrowed her eyes, peering into his mind. There was no indication that he was lying. He flashed his eyes, a bright yellow replacing the blue. "Liam, and— I think this belongs to you." He reaches out, handing her a red leather glove. The glove she had forgotten in the library that day.

Liam Dunbar. Huh.

"I'm Wanda. And I think I might be in need of a little bit of... help." She said, carefully.

Liam let out a breathy laugh, relieved. "Oh, this is great. Because I think we do too." He shared a look at Mason. "Ever heard of a Rat King?"

GROSS, WAS THE ONLY WORD WANDA COULD USE TO DESCRIBE IT. It was gross. This rat king? It was gross. More disgusting than the spiders.

Liam and Mason had recruited another on their trip down to the tunnels; a werecoyote named Malia. Which in all honesty, had thrown Wanda off. A werewolf she could believe, but a werecoyote? This universe enjoyed testing her patience, apparently.

Wanda had been greeted by a; "Who the hell is this?" And an explanation from Liam. After that, Malia had lost her grumpiness towards Wanda, but her on edge demeanor did not drop.

"You've got two minutes," Malia said, annoyed. Her entire aura told Wanda the girl would rather be anywhere else but here.

"What do you think happened?" Liam asked, his face twisting in disgust as Malia crouched down.

"Rats freaked out... crawled all over each other." She reached out, trying to untangle a rat from the heap of corpses. "Got their tails knotted up..." Malia tore a rat free, holding it up by its tail. "And tore each other apart to break free."

"You read up on rat kings?" Mason asked.

"What's a rat king?" Malia glanced at Wanda. "What do you think, witch?"

Wanda thought for a moment, letting her powers take in the energy she felt in the tunnels. "I sense... panic. They were desperately trying to get away from something." Malia nodded, sniffing the rat, and then held it out to Liam.

"Smell it." Malia demanded.

Liam stepped back several feet. "Ohhhh I'm good! Thank you!" Mason braced himself against the wall, about to throw up. Wanda put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, sending a calming wave through him.

"You okay?" She asked.

"I'm.. I'm good..." He said, dazed. Meanwhile, Malia shot both Liam and Mason an annoyed and impatient look. She turned her attention to Liam specifically, shoving the rat at him.

"Witch is right. Can't you smell it? It's fear." Liam, thoroughly disgusted, pushed Malia's hand towards the floor, dropping the rat with the others.

"It's the same as the rats in the math classroom," Liam said, making Wanda's eyebrows shoot up, moving away from Mason, who had calmed down.

"What rats?" She asked.

"Why were there rats in the math classroom?" Malia asked, exasperated.

"They ran in during fifth period— about fifty of them, right?" He asked Mason, the other boy nodding.

"Well," Malia said. "It must've been the same reason as to what Witchy gave— panic. They're running from something." She glanced at her watch. "Your two minutes are up." Malia turned to leave, moving through the tunnels.

"Where are you going?" Liam called.

Malia continued, not bothering to look back at them. "Paris! This isn't my problem anymore."

"So you think this is a problem?"

"Maybe." She paused. "Probably. But I've got a plane to catch."

"I thought it was canceled?" Mason called, finally staggering to his feet, Wanda helping him.

"Re-routed!" And Malia had left, leaving the three.

Liam and Mason shared a frustrated look, steering clear of the tangled rat bodies. "So," Wanda broke the silence. "any other ideas then?"

Their idea of "other idea" was visiting the local hospital. Wanda was starting to wish she could meet Liams alpha— Scott, wasn't it? The other boy in the woods. Because she was running in circles with these two, maybe Scott could do something useful.

The trio walked into the ER reception room, passing a fight between two patients. "Miss. McCall?" Mason called, approaching a nurse. The woman smiled, greeting them. McCall? Must be Scott's mom.

"Hey! Oh my gosh, did you bring me dinner? That's really nice—" She said, reaching for the brown bag that contained the rat king. Mason hurriedly pulled it away.

"It's not dinner, I'm afraid." Wanda said, feeling pity for the woman. Miss. McCall glanced at her, and then looked inside the bag, her look turning into one of disgust.

"Ugh... definitely not dinner." She looked at Wanda, holding out her hand, her smile warm. "Melissa."

Wanda shook it. "Wanda Maximoff."

"I'm sorry they dragged you into..." She looked at the paper brown bag with distaste. "whatever... this is."

Wanda shrugged. "I've seen weirder."

Like a city dropping out of the sky by a robot with anger issues hell bent on wiping out humanity. Or a giant purple man who succeeded in wiping out half the universe.

Succeeded in killing her.

"We were hoping you could take a look at it," Liam asked, awkwardly.

Wanda listened to Melissa go into a rant, Liam and Mason trying to convince her to just listen to them. Wanda glanced around the room— there was something in the hospital. Two somethings. She could feel their power— burning, raw power. It was distracting. And she couldn't pinpoint the source of it.

Melissa ushers them away, Liam breaking her out of the trance she had gone in. Unfortunately, before they could make it out of the building, a fight had broken out once again that had been arguing previously.

Melissa called for security, Liam stepping in between the two men,. "Sir, you need to calm down—"

WHACK!

The man punched Liam in the nose, Liam staggering back. Wanda felt a surge of fury go through Liam, and it was targeted at the man. He growled, a violent animalistic sound coming from his throat. His eyes flashed, the fangs growing.

Wanda quickly stepped in, standing in front of Liam, between him and the man. "Liam... Liam..." She said, sending a wave of calmness through him. "Liam it's okay, alright?"

The man, however, was not okay. "What? What?!" He yelled, stepping back. Security had finally come, and Wanda pulled Liam away from the fight. She sent a wave of red mist at the man, unnoticed. He wouldn't remember what he had seen.

Mason had followed them outside, Wanda sitting Liam down on the sidewalk.

"The sun.. the moon.. the truth..." He kept repeating, claws digging into his hands.

"So..." she glanced at Mason. "are all werewolves usually this prone to violence?"

Mason sighed. "You have no idea."

WANDA STEPPED OUT OF MASON'S CAR, walking through the school parking lot with tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum. "Hey, so what did you do with the rat?" Liam asked.

Mason sighed. "I... I lost it in the fight." Liam groaned. "Melissas gonna kill us."

Liam was bemused. "Oh, right, like we can ever go back there." He hissed, sarcasm flooding his voice.

"Yeah, and that may work for you, but what about me?" Mason asked, annoyed.

Liam smiled sheepishly. "That may be a problem."

"I erased the man's memory, if it makes you feel any better." Wanda offered, Liam now looking at her with caution.

"You can do that?"

Wanda grinned. "I can do anything. Witch, remember?"

"I didn't hear you cast any spells though," Liam muttered, entering the highschool. Wanda wasn't excited about being dragged along to a study night, and she would never admit this to them— but she enjoyed their company. First time she wasn't truly alone since waking up here.

Wanda waved her hand dismissively. "I don't need them. Everything I do is nonverbal. What do you think has been keeping you calm this entire time?"

She pulled a seat across from the two boys, settling down in the corner of the library. "That was you?" Liam said, his glare dropping. Wanda nodded.

"Didn't want you to go full wolf in a hospital, no?" Wanda's grin fell.

"So what's a witch from Russia doing in Beacon Hills anyway?" Mason asked.

"Sokovia." Wanda corrected. "And I didn't come here straight from Sokovia." She paused, thinking. "I was in New York for a while, and Africa for a little bit after that."

Liam raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you here?"

"Call it..." What could she say? She couldn't tell them she died along with half the universe. "...a feeling. I guess. I was drawn here." That wasn't a lie, because technically she was. Whatever force decided to send her here instead of the awaiting afterlife had done it for a reason. "Speaking of—"

Wanda felt the burning presence, the same one at the hospital. The two signatures were here.

Liam reacted for a different reason, looking up, his eyes narrowing. He got up, abruptly, stomping out of the library. Wanda and Mason hot on his trail.

She followed Liam through the twisted hallways, her heartbeat accelerating with anticipation. What was it?

"Something that got away?" A far away voice said. Liam slammed open the door, skidding to a stop. Two men stood, recognition shooting through Mason and Liam. They knew one of them, Wanda realized. And they knew what they were.

The hostile man growled, glaring at them. "Something that you let out. Something that was brought here. They must be stopped."

Mason learned against Liam. "Is he talking about you?" He glanced at Wanda. "Or you?

Liam stood in front of them both. "I hope not."

The mans eyes blazed blood orange light, bursting into flames, claws forming. The other man did the same, light turning into flame.

"Get behind me," Liam demanded Mason.

"That's a..." Mason breathed

"Hellhound." Liam confirmed. Hellhound?!

HellHounds?! And they were at the hospital, right under her nose. He looked at Wanda, probably sensing her confusion. "Parrish is a hellhound, did I— did I forget to mention that?"

The hostile seemed to be beating— Parrish? Their fights moving in and out of classrooms, making dents in the lockers. It was like watching two Hulks go at one another; but they were on fire.

And then the hostile threw Parrish through the double doors, turning his attention back to Liam. Back to her.

"Run!" Liam yelled, pushing Mason away.

Mason shook his head, protesting. "No! I'm not leaving you—"

"It's a hellhound! Run." Liam said, Mason finally listening. The teenager sprinted in the opposite direction, leaving Wanda and Liam to face the beast.

The hellhound growled at her, pointing an accusing finger at Wanda. "You." He spat. "You aren't supposed to be here." Wanda's fears were confirmed; it was here for her.

Wanda's eyes glowed red, red mist forming into balls at her fingertips. Liam's eyes turned yellow, roaring at the hellhound with his claws out. Wanda threw a surge of mist at the beast, knocking him back several feet.

Liam lunged, using momentum to jump off the lockers and land a hit in the hostiles head. Wanda used her powers to pull a locker off the hinges, smacking the hostile to the ground. The hellhound recovered quickly, slamming Liam against the wall, holding the young wolf by his neck. He raised his fiery claws, aiming to strike—

And it stopped, inches from his throat. Wanda stood, several feet away, her powers wrapped around the hellhounds hand.

She focused, her eyes glowing brighter, now using two hands, forcing him away from Liam. The flames were flickering, the Hostile breathing hard on his knees.

She sensed the fear radiating off of Liam— she didn't care.

"You... should be... dead." The Hellhound gasped.

"You know nothing," Wanda spat, what did this beast know?

"The universe cried out in suffering and you escaped it! And now it's out!" This made Wanda falter, the mist dropping.

The hellhound took advantage of this, charging at her. Only to be stopped by Liam, Wanda quickly recovered, tag teaming with the wolf. Wanda blocked his strikes, making sure she was projecting all her negative emotions onto him. It's what he had deserved—

The hellhound released his grip on Liam, blocking a blow from a metal bat. Mason was on the other end, his face shifting into a look of fear when he realized the hellhound was melting it. He took the bat, hitting Mason over the head with it. The teenager fell limply to the ground, out cold.

Liam roared in fury, clawing at the beast. He sent a wave of hell fire at Liam, Liam crying out in pain. Wanda growled, that was both of them hurt because of this— thing.

"It can't stay hidden... it can't stay hidden..." The hellhound muttered into nothingness.

She threw the beast down the hallway, the light extinguishing. Liam was recovering on the ground, crawling over to Mason, who was regaining consciousness.

Wanda's eyes faded back into their normal green, the mist dropping. "Everyone okay?" The hellhound disappeared, leaving behind dust.

Liam groaned, him and Mason supporting each other as they stood. "Considering I've just been hit with hellfire... not so good."

"I think..." Mason rasped. "It'd be a good idea... to call Scott." Liam nodded.

Wanda threw up her hands. Finally! She'd get to meet the alpha! "Well," she put her hands on her hips, shifting her weight to one foot. "it's about bloody time for that anyway?"

Okay, okay, in my defense... I don't have a defense. I've had some free time to write and I don't. But writers block is a thing, you know? I'll try to be more frequent with my updates. Like and comment please! See you later, loves.

~ Beth