Chapter 36: Affirming Flame
Defenceless under the night
Our world in stupor lies;
Yet, dotted everywhere,
Ironic points of light
Flash out wherever the Just
Exchange their messages:
May I, composed like them
Of Eros and of dust,
Beleaguered by the same
Negation and despair,
Show an affirming flame.
~W. H. Auden, from "September 1, 1939"
Bruce and Darcy were in the latter's lab sketching diagrams on a whiteboard while Jane Foster sat at a computer looking up pertinent metrics and functions.
"Can I just say how much I've missed computers?" Jane said.
"How could you miss them when you forgot they existed?" Darcy quipped.
"My subconscious mind never forgot them. I've had so many dreams about laptops over the last twenty years."
Bruce chuckled. "It's amazing you figured all this out by yourself without even a modern astrophysics graphing program."
"I had a lot of time on my hands."
"Did you date anyone while you were in Westview?" Darcy asked teasingly.
"None of your business. I'll tell you later."
"I'll hold you to that."
"Anyway," Jane continued, "I didn't figure it all out. I didn't see that the lack of the Infinity Stones would cause increasing cosmic instability, and I didn't figure out anything about how they could interact through a nexus point once they existed again."
Bruce nodded. "I can't think of anyone other than Wanda who could have served as that nexus point. It seems like it would have to be someone who was already imprinted with the manifold signature of at least one Infinity Stone, and I really think it was her psychic ability that was facilitating the connection."
"Hey, is anyone else worried what could happen to time if the Time Stone isn't brought back into existence?" Darcy asked.
Bruce glanced over his shoulder at her, trying to look like he hadn't already been thinking about a solution to that. "Yeah, that's definitely a concern." He spotted Nat in the back of the room. "Nat? How long have you been here?"
Jane and Darcy looked toward her in surprise.
Nat smiled. "A few minutes. I was enjoying listening to the three of you nerd out."
"You could have jumped in," Jane said. "I remember how knowledgeable you are about physics from that Fourth of July party at the park."
She shrugged. "I know a lot about explosives, not so much astrophysics, or quantum physics, or string theory, or whatever else this is."
"It's a little bit of everything. There's still so much we have to figure out about how Wanda was able to control the Infinity Stones, and how they interacted to create the bubble dimension," Bruce explained. "There's some neuroscience and psychology thrown in there."
Nat nodded. "Hey Bruce, can I borrow you for a minute?"
"Of course. I was just about to call it a day anyway. If that's okay?" he asked Jane and Darcy.
"Of course. See you tomorrow, Dr. Banner," Jane said.
He followed Nat outside. "I haven't seen you all day. You been busy?"
"Helping with the evacuation," she said. "I've been locating people, getting people in touch with family members and neighbors, acting as a liaison between S.W.O.R.D. and the city council, convincing a few hold-outs to leave their houses. Apparently I'm a pillar of the community."
"Sounds like important work."
"Not quite figuring out the science behind what happened, but I feel like I'm doing my part. Do you know anything about what S.W.O.R.D. plans to do with Wanda?"
"I haven't heard."
"So you helped them bring her in without assurances that she wouldn't be locked up?"
He shrugged. "I'm sure they wouldn't do that. She didn't mean to do anything wrong."
Nat looked at him from the corner of her eye. "Listen, Wanda's the reason I'm alive right now. I owe her. And I'm going to make sure nothing happens to her. I don't fully trust S.W.O.R.D. not to do something drastic, and I'm thinking I might help her and her family make a getaway. Unless I have reason to believe there's something else in the works?"
It startled him, the reminder that Nat was a master spy who could spot a lie a mile away.
She noticed his response. "When Dr. Lewis mentioned the Time Stone, you were just pretending to be worried. There's more going on than you've been letting on."
He sighed. "It's complicated," he explained just above a whisper. "There's more going on here than Fury knows about. I'll explain it to you later, but right now, right here, I'm going to ask you to just trust me, and hold off on trying to help Wanda escape for a few days. It might not be necessary."
She looked at him smuggly. "Okay, but you're going to tell me your whole side of the story later. Maybe over dinner?"
"Over...over dinner?" he repeated.
"Yeah. You know any good places to eat around here, Banner?"
He couldn't quite bring himself to believe she was actually asking him on a date, that after all this time, even after he'd turned himself permanently big and green, she was still interested in him.
"Unless you have other plans?" she added when he didn't answer.
"No. Dinner would be great. I haven't bought anyone dinner in a long time."
"Who said I was letting you buy?"
"Well, from what I've heard about the economy in Westview, inflation is a few decades behind the rest of the U.S., so I'm not sure how far your money will go here."
"How do you know so much about Westview?" she asked in a teasingly suspicious tone.
"I'll tell you all about it over dinner," he promised. "But not tonight. I need to go see some people about a Time Stone."
Wanda looked up when she heard a knock on the door of her hotel room. She looked questioningly at Vision, who rose and went to the door.
"Who is there?" he asked.
"It's just me," Bruce answered.
Vision opened the door.
Wanda hadn't seen Bruce since Tony's funeral, and before that their few interactions had been not entirely positive. She was nervous at his presence.
"Good evening, Doctor Banner," Vision said.
"Good evening Vision, Wanda. Where are your kids?"
"They're down at the swimming pool," Wanda answered.
"That's nice."
"What can we do for you?" Vision inquired.
"I actually just need to have a word with Wanda for a minute."
"You can talk to me in front of Vision," Wanda said.
Vision had insisted he would stay with her every moment until they found out what S.W.O.R.D. intended to do with her.
"Okay." Bruce opened his laptop and started setting it up on the table. "I don't know if Vision told you, but all our calculations indicate the destruction of the Infinity Stones led to an instability in the universe that ultimately led to points in space collapsing back into the Infinity Stones. Matter that had close extended contact with the Infinity Stones got imprinted with their energy, and when three or more were close together it increased that instability beyond a certain threshold. That's why the Infinity Stones popped back into existence around you. It's not that you were causing it, just that you brought the imprint of the Mind Stone into contact with people imprinted by other Infinity Stones. That's why you got the Soul Stone from Clint, the Space Stone from Carol Danvers, and the Reality Stone from Jane Foster. I'm guessing the Mind Stone manifested when you used the Reality Stone to recreate Vision?"
"No. The Mind Stone was centered on me when it started to break through into the universe," Wanda said. "I used energy from the other Infinity Stones to try to contain it, and it just...turned into Vision. I think that's the form the Mind Stone wanted to be in. I can't explain it better than that."
"Oh. Interesting," Bruce said. He frowned, then seemed to set that thought aside for later. "And then the Power Stone emerged..."
"When Wanda came in contact with Mary-Jo. But why?" Vision asked, a question that seemed to have been troubling him for a while. "When could Mary-Jo have had contact with the Power Stone?"
"That's a...interesting story," Bruce said, "which is unfortunately very, very classified, and I think she should have the chance to tell you herself. I will tell you she was hiding out in Westview, that Fury installed her in the safehouse there, and that's kind of what started this whole thing."
"Are she and Teddy in any danger?" Vision asked.
"I don't think so, but again you should talk to her about it herself. Right now we need to worry about the last Infinity Stone, the one that hasn't come back into existence."
He brought up a teleconference window on his computer screen and dialed someone. Wanda waited nervously and curiously.
Doctor Strange appeared on the screen.
"Strange?" Wanda said in surprise.
"Nice to see you again, Wanda. We need to talk."
"Who is this?" Vision asked.
"This is Doctor Strange. It was his plan that let us defeat Thanos," Wanda explained.
"Ah yes. Doctor Banner told us about you. I presume Agnes was working for you?"
Wanda looked sharply at Vision. "Agnes?"
"That's right," Strange confirmed. "I've been keeping a close eye on your situation. Wanda, I have a favor to ask you."
"The Time Stone," she guessed. "If you and I meet up, you would get the Time Stone back."
"Yes. But there's something more than that. Let me cut to the chase. Ms. Maximoff, right now there's a being of unfathomable power plotting to destroy our world. It's called Dormammu. I was able to turn him back once before using the Time Stone. This time he has brought an army of demons. They're preparing to invade our dimension. But we've discovered those demons aren't following him of their own free will; they're being mind controlled. With your powers, I believe you would be able to break that mind control, free them, and stop Dormammu."
She could barely breathe. What he was saying sounded too huge, too terrifying. "I...I don't know how. I can't control the way I alter people's minds."
"Of course you can't control it; you haven't practiced it. I can train you, help you master your psychic powers. Once you learn how to do it on purpose, you'll also be able to choose not to do it. You won't need to wear that thing on your head anymore."
That was tempting. She hated the thought of controlling other people's minds. She wished more than anything that she could choose when to turn it on and turn it off.
But she wasn't sure she could.
"I won't lie to you, it will be incredibly dangerous," Strange continued. "But if Dormammu gets here, he will destroy everything and everyone on Earth. This time, you may be the only one who can stop him."
Vision put his hand on her shoulder. He locked eyes with her, silently begging her not to go.
He would risk his own life to save the world in a heartbeat, but not hers.
She looked back at Doctor Strange. "Can I have some time to discuss this with my family?"
He looked at his watch. "In three hours, midnight in your time zone, I'm going to open a portal connecting your hotel room to Westview. You'll step through that portal. The minute we meet in a place brimming with the signatures of the Infinity Stones, the Time Stone will come back into existence. If you're willing to help me save the world, we'll leave from there to Kamar-Taj to begin your training. You're family can come stay at Kamar-Taj if they want, but if Dormammu comes to Earth, that will probably be the first place he destroys. Not that anywhere else will be all that much safer. Whatever you decide, I'll see you at midnight."
He hung up.
Bruce closed his laptop. He seemed shaken by what he'd just heard. "That's the message I came here to give you. Agnes is a sorceress; she's been investigating Westview and reporting to Doctor Strange since the beginning. Fury doesn't know they've been involved. No one did but me. If you accept Doctor Strange's offer, I won't tell S.W.O.R.D. where you've gone. It will be like you just disappeared. If you decide not to take his offer, Nat is planning to help you go into hiding, and I'd help her if it comes to that. It's up to you."
"Thank you," Wanda said, surprised that Bruce Banner was willing to help her escape.
"I'd better go. I'm sure you've got a lot to talk about."
The moment Bruce left, Vision turned to her. "I don't want you to go," he stated.
"I have to. If the world's in danger, I have to do what I can to help. Besides, I owe Doctor Strange."
"It sounds incredibly dangerous. You might not...you might not come back."
She reached for him, placing her hand on his cheek. "You were willing to sacrifice your life to stop Thanos. This isn't that different. The thing is, as much as we might wish we were normal people who can just live normal, quiet lives, we're not. The powers we have...give us a responsibility to use them to help. It's different for you because you never asked for your powers; you were created with them. Pietro and I risked our lives volunteering for HYDRA's experiments because we wanted the power to make a difference in the world. And, yeah, at first we were completely wrong about what we should use our powers for, and who we should use them against, but the fact remains I did ask for them." She sighed. "I have to do this, for a lot of reasons."
"Then I will come with you. I will help you fight this Dormammu."
"No," she said apologetically. "One of us needs to stay safe, for our children. I think this is something I have to do alone."
He squeezed his eyes closed for a moment, then opened them, looking at her with both sorrow and acceptance. He kissed her hand, then kissed her forehead, then her lips, then rested his forehead against hers. "Then you should get ready. And say goodbye."
They found Billy and Tommy in their hotel room watching an action movie.
"I can't believe how much we've been missing," Tommy told them.
Billy noticed the expression on his parents' faces and paused the movie. "What's wrong?"
Wanda slowly walked in and sat down on his bed. "I'm going to be going away for a while," she said.
"Are they arresting you?" Tommy asked. "I'd think you could just break out of prison."
"They have a special prison for people like me," she told him. "I wasn't able to break out of it before. Not on my own, anyway."
Tommy's eyes widened. "You've been in lock-up? On top of everything else, my mom's also a jailbird? That's one part of your story Dad didn't tell us."
"Tommy, being a criminal doesn't make someone cool," she patiently explained to him. "Anyway, no, I'm not being arrested. I'm going to a place where I can learn to control my powers better. Hopefully I won't be gone too long. But while I'm gone, I'm going to need you to help your father. The three of you will need to be a team now. Can you do that for me?"
Billy hugged her. "Of course, Mom. I'm going to miss you."
Tommy was frowning. "So you're going to just turn our lives upside down and then bug out, huh Mom?"
They had always been like this, Vision realized: when hurt, Billy would reach out for comfort, and Tommy would lash out.
"She is not leaving by choice," Vision said. "She would never choose to leave us, for any length of time. But your mother is a hero, and heroes can't choose to not do something when they are needed. That is what makes them heroes."
Tommy nodded. He scrunched his face fighting back tears, but lost the battle. For a moment, he looked like he was trying to decide between hugging Wanda or shoving her, but went with the former, clutching her shirt and sobbing on her shoulder while she stroked his head.
Wanda held her own tears until they left the twins' room, and even then her tears were silent. Vision put his arm around her as they walked down the hallway to their own room.
Wanda didn't have much to pack: Vision had brought her a duffel bag of clothes and a few personal items from their house, and the few things she'd taken out she tucked back in with the efficiency and decisiveness of an experienced traveler.
In silence.
Vision didn't speak either. He'd already told her he didn't want her to go, but he understood why she had to. He didn't know if he could say anything else with the lump in his throat.
When she ran out of things to pack, she turned to him.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"I..." He wasn't sure whether to accept her apology or assure her it was unnecessary. He wanted to tell her he had faith that she would complete her mission and return safely, but he wasn't sure if that was true. He swallowed. "Wanda, what you said earlier, that we do not have the option to live normal, quiet lives... The fact is, we did. We had over twenty years together, twenty years to be ordinary, to be happy. That is more than many people get. You made that possible for us. It may be over now, but we had it, and I am forever grateful to you for that."
She wrapped her arms around him. "You're the love of my life too, you know."
At first he only kissed the top of her head, but then she kissed his cheek, then he kissed her lips, then she kissed his neck, and he noted they still had over an hour before her appointment with Doctor Strange.
They made love with an odd blend of deliberation and desperation, both knowing without wanting to acknowledge that it might be their last time. After they dressed, they lay on the bed together, holding each other, until the glowing numbers on the bedside alarm clock flicked to 12:00 and, seconds later, a glowing gold portal appeared in the room.
"That's my cue," Wanda said quietly.
She slung her duffel bag over her shoulder and started walking slowly toward it. She stopped before stepping through and turned to look at him.
He took her hand.
"I love you," she said.
"I love you," he replied.
He let her fingers slide out of his. She stepped through the portal. It closed behind her.
With yesterday's snow, Westview finally joined the rest of New England in winter.
The only footprints visible in the fresh snow in this part of town were the ones Fury, Carol, and Mary-Jo left behind them.
"So Wanda Maximoff just disappeared in the middle of the night without telling anyone where she was going?" Carol asked incredulously, apropos of Fury telling them that S.W.O.R.D. would be drilling down to recover the Infinity Stones at four locations Wanda had indicated in a note she'd left behind.
"That's what her husband and kids tell me, and I have no reason to doubt their honesty," Fury replied in a lightly facetious tone. "To tell you the truth, other than Wanda going to work for S.W.O.R.D., this might be the best outcome we could've hoped for. It saves a lot of people some inconvenient questions."
"Her poor kids," Mary-Jo said. "They've never known any reality other than Wanda's Westview, and now they've lost that and their mother."
"I have a feeling they'll be just fine. How's your son holding up?"
Mary-Jo smiled. "He's actually excited. He wants to take Billy to see New York City." After a moment, she added solemnly, "I've decided it's time to tell him who he really is. Not right now, while we're still adjusting to being reunited with the real world, but soon. He was starting to figure out he's not like most people before the bubble dimension happened. That gave me a reprieve on that particular conversation, but he needs to know the truth. He's going to need to know about the tough choices he may be asked to make someday."
"You want me there when you tell him?" Carol asked. "It might be less of a shock coming from someone other than the person he always thought was his biological mother."
"Maybe," she said. "This is it."
They stopped in front of the safehouse where Mary-Jo and Teddy had lived when they first got to Westview, years ago, where Wanda had lived when Clint brought her there to hide out, and where Natasha had been living since her resurrection. This was where Wanda's note indicated the Soul Stone was buried.
"Think Romanov knows anything about where Wanda went?" Carol wondered.
"Wouldn't surprise me. They're a team, and a team protects each other." Fury sounded slightly distracted.
She noticed. "Penny for your thoughts?"
"I'd been hoping once we figured out the Westview situation that I could get what's left of the old team back together: Romanov, Banner, Wilson, Maximoff, Vision...maybe throw in Bucky Barnes for good measure. But that might be thinking too small. What Rambeau is learning to do with her powers could beat any one of them. Clint Barton tells me he's got a protégée just about ready to take up his mantle. Wanda and Vision's kids—I got a feeling we can expect great things from them. I'd be interested to know what your son's capable of," he said in aside to Mary-Jo. "And here we've got a whole town of people who've been living on top of Infinity Stones for two decades. Who knows what that's done to them. Not to mention a bunch of teens who've been trained by Black Widow for years. I think it's time to start looking for the next generation of heroes, and I think right here," he looked around at the quiet, snowclad residential street, "is the place to start."
The End!
I met my goal of finishing my WandaVision fic before the series came out—barely.
Sorry this isn't the unambiguously happy ending some of you were hoping for, but I wanted to set the stage for Doctor Strange 2 and hint at the New Avengers.
Thanks for reading!
