Chapter 29: Obscured
Sunset that screens, revels—
Enhancing what we see
By menaces of Amethyst
And Moats of Mystery.
~Emily Dickinson
Agnes was raking leaves in her front yard when Vision came up to her. "Good afternoon."
"Afternoon," she replied as casually as she could muster.
Ever since Bruce told her Wanda was using Infinity Stones to create her pocket dimension (a few years ago in Westview time, a couple of months ago in the outside world), Agnes had been nervous when talking to Wanda or Vision. Of all the worst-case scenarios she'd speculated about for what the source of Wanda's power could be, the Infinity Stones scared her more. They had taken everyone she loved from her once, and even though Wanda had so far seemed a benevolent and psychologically stable nearly omnipotent overlord, she had in her history joined HYDRA and helped a misanthropic robot try to take over the world, and Agnes couldn't not think about the fact that Wanda could render her nonexistent at a whim.
Once she knew what she was looking for, Agnes had been able to locate the Infinity Stones. The Mind Stone, of course, was hidden in Vision's head. The others were buried deep in the earth in varoius places around town: one under Wanda and Vision's house, one under the house Natasha was living in, one in Old Mill Park, near the center of town, and the newest one at the outskirts on the far side of town.
"Will you be attending the Halloween party at City Hall tomorrow?" Vision inquired.
"I'm planning on it. Why?"
"Oh, I was just wondering."
He looked distracted, like there was something else in his mind.
"Are the boys dressing up for Halloween this year, or do they think they're getting too old for it?" Agnes asked.
"They are. Tommy is going as a NASCAR driver, and Billy as a wizard."
"What about you and Wanda?"
"Wanda has put together a quite fetching sorceress costume. I have just been piecing my costume together from odds and ends. I haven't decided exactly what to say I am. I think I might be some kind of robot."
The was something almost melancholy in the way he said that.
"Is everything okay, Vic?" Agnes asked him.
He looked startled. "Of course. Why wouldn't it be?"
His voice was slightly higher pitched when he answered. He was a truly terrible liar.
"Is everything okay with you and Wanda?"
"I think so," he said uncertainly.
Sounded like there was some trouble in paradise. That was a frightening possibility, because if Wanda became unhappy, there was no telling what she might do, or what effects her state of mind might have on the reality she created.
"That doesn't sound good," Agnes said sympathetically. "What happened?"
"Nothing specific. A few weeks ago... For a few weeks now, Wanda has been more solicitous towards me than usual. I feel she is trying to make up for something, or distract me from something."
A few weeks ago was when there was a sudden outpouring of energy indicating the emergence of the fifth Infinity Stone. Did Vision know about it?
"From what?"
"I'm not sure. It has led me to ponder our marriage. Wanda and I never argue. We have discussions when we have divergent aims, but we always come to some agreement or mutually acceptable compromise. We never fight. I used to believe that was because in general we are in accord with each other, but now I am beginning to wonder if the true reason is Wanda has been keeping things from me. Perhaps anything she believes I will disapprove of, she simply hides."
He sounded so forlorn about it.
Agnes shrugged. "You know what they say: if something seems too good to be true, it probably is."
He frowned. "Do you know of anything she has been concealing from me?"
"No, but I know how marriages work. No matter how well you work together, no one is ever going to be a perfect match. Because people are people, not puzzle pieces made for each other. Every person is made for themself, and no one else. You put two people with their own lives, habits, beliefs, and opinions together, and there's going to be friction. There's going to be rough edges. And if you don't see those rough edges, that's either because you're deluding yourself or she's hiding them from you."
"That makes sense. I've never thought about it that way."
Agnes raised an eyebrow. The irony wasn't lost on her that she was giving marriage advice when she hadn't even been able to make her pretend marriage work. "Vic, you've been married for how many years now? Are you really just now figuring out that marriage is hard?"
He didn't answer, but the panic-stricken look on his face indicated that was indeed the case. "What am I to do? I can't force her to tell me something she means to conceal."
"No you can't. You can't just will someone to act how you want them to act, or be what you want them to be. But, you know, from where I'm standing, this looks like a two-way street."
He tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
"Well, why are you telling this to me? I know I've got a reputation as a bit of a gossip, so why would you tell me you're worried about your wife keeping secrets from you instead of complaining about it to one of your friends at work? It seems to me like you want Wanda to find out you're hurt and worried about this, but you don't want to risk a confrontation by telling her yourself."
Rather than get defensive, like a normal human would, Vision stood perfectly still in thought for a long moment. "You have a point," he finally said. "Please do not say anything to Wanda."
"I won't," Agnes promised.
She was beginning to think the way to stop Wanda might be through Vision.
