Author Note: I loved WandaVision! It took me right back into my love for the Twilight Zone, especially in those early episodes. But when Evan Peters showed up as Pietro Maximoff, I lost it. I thought they finally were going to introduce the X-Men universe into the MCU now that Disney owns both. I loved Quicksilver played by Evan Peters in the X-Men movies and to have this crossing of the realities happen in WandaVision would have been epic. It was such a let down when Kevin Feige basically said his casting was just to mess with us. Despite this, I just can't let it go! That's where this little story comes from.
Since it doesn't seem very clear within the MCU, I want to clarify that as far as this story goes, the Snap is when Thanos snaps his fingers and half of life disappears. The Blip is when they all reappear. If anyone thinks this is wrong, let me know! I'd love to talk about it!
Thanks for reading! I adore comments, even constructive ones.
The Missing (X) Man
Peter Maximoff blinked up at the woman kneeling on top of him, a broken hemp necklace clutched in her hand. Purple vapors wafted out of his eyes and off the necklace. His head cleared as they dissipated into nothingness. He blinked again.
The beautiful black woman wore a two-tone blue fitted outfit that sure reminded him of an X-men outfit. She leaned down slightly, squinting as she examined him. Then, seemingly satisfied, she straightened. She threw the necklace across the room and climbed off of him. With an offered hand, she said, "Spell's broken. You're free of her, Ralph."
Ralph? Who the hell is Ralph?
He frowned as memories flooded back into his head. Oh, yeah. He's supposed to be Ralph. He giggled to himself, muttering "Ralph Bohner."
With a snort, the woman retracted her offered hand. The look on her face warned between annoyed exasperation and attempting not to break out laughing. "Good-bye, Ralph." She walked out of the room, leaving him lying on the ground.
Peter lay there for a long time. He thought a lot about where he'd come from and how he'd gotten to this strange world. Although, if he were truly honest with himself, his own world was quite strange as well. He thought about Erik, and how every time he tried to reveal the true nature of their relationship, he always screwed it up. Especially that last time when he'd blipped out of existence. At least that's what everyone here called it. The Blip.
Dimly, he recognized the sun going down and figured he'd just fall asleep right there on the floor. Agatha's spell had been broken, but Wanda's remained. Perhaps there had been some dilution of Wanda's hold on him by Agatha's manipulations because he remembered who he was, but he could still feel Wanda's overwhelming grief pulsing at the edges of his mind. He closed his eyes, intending to fall into unconsciousness.
Before sleep could take him, a ribbon of pure red energy moved through the house. Everything changed.
Peter bolted upright. He glanced at the sunlight streaming through the window that had been dark a second earlier. He sped over to the window, electricity crackling as he used his power. He peered out at the house next door. Or at least what used to be Wanda and Vision's house. Now all that remained there was the beginnings of a foundation and a few pipes sticking out of some scraggly grass.
A lone figure with scarlet red hair stood in the middle of the property. Her head tilted down in an angle of defeat. Then she shoved her hands in her pockets and walked away.
Wanda.
His sister. But not really his sister. But kind of his sister.
Even though Agatha had been pulling his strings, he'd really liked being part of a family again. Sure, the X-men are great. And Erik is technically his father, not that he knew. But he missed his mom and his little sister. And Wendy, his twin lost years ago.
Being the jackass brother to Wanda was the perfect role for him. She didn't really know him, but the feelings for her lost twin resonated along side his. Vision was a good guy. The nephews were fun. They were good kids too, no matter if they were manifestations or not. He sincerely hoped Wanda would get them back somehow.
Realizing that this meant the final spell was broken, he ran. Nobody controlled him now. Not Agatha and not Wanda. He ran, flexing his power. He ran through the neighborhood to the main streets of Westview. He saw the FBI cleaning up the mess at the town square. Finally, he spotted the man he needed. Positioning himself in an alley behind a dumpster, he could see everything.
Jimmy Woo spoke to that woman in the superhero outfit that had freed him from Agatha's spell. Monica? He was pretty sure that's what Agatha had called her. Another agent said something to her and she walked off towards the theater. Jimmy gave some directions to a few other agents then he also walked away on his own.
Seizing the moment, Peter darted out at full speed, grabbed Jimmy and rushed him back into the alley before any other agent could blink.
"Woah," Jimmy breathed out as he leaned against the brick wall. He closed his eyes for a moment and Peter knew he'd be okay as soon as the dizziness passed. Then Jimmy looked straight at him, eyes narrowed. "What the hell? You know I hate when you do that."
Peter shrugged. "I didn't want anyone to see me. Besides, you'll get used to it."
"No, I won't!" Jimmy looked like he was going to stomp his foot like an angry child but then restrained himself. "Don't do that again, Ralph."
Peter winced. "I changed my mind. I want a different name."
Jimmy huffed. "We talked about this. Once you pick a name, it's yours. Hell, we even had those head shots done for Ralph Bohner!"
A new voice caught them off-guard. "Ralph Bohner? Who would ever deliberately pick that name?"
Both Peter and Jimmy turned at the sound of this feminine voice behind them. A woman with long, straight, brown hair walked down the alley, coming from the opposite direction of the main street.
Peter recovered first. "Who wouldn't want a name that means 'Vomit Erection'? Half the world outright laughs at it and you get to laugh at the other half struggling not to laugh."
The pretty woman tilted her head and squinted her eyes at him. "Are you in middle school?"
Despite knowing this to be a rhetorical question, Peter answered anyway. "Middle school was a high time in my life." He flashed her his most disarming smile.
She couldn't seem to stop herself from smiling back.
"I thought you left a while ago, Darcy. Debriefing being for the weak and all," Jimmy broke in.
"Yeah, didn't want to deal with the government types after Hayward, but I did want to check out Westview without any spells on it."
"Find anything?" Jimmy asked.
"Seems pretty boring in real life," she answered.
"It really is," Peter agreed.
Darcy turned back to him, biting her lower lip. "And just who are you for real, Fietro?"
"Who, me? Your friendly, neighborhood speedster?" Peter grinned mischievously.
"Hey." Jimmy gave him a hard look. "You know the rules, Peter." He made a straggled sound. "I mean, Ralph!"
"Wait, your name's Peter for real?" Darcy pointed at him.
He nodded. "Yep, Peter Maximoff."
Darcy choked. "Maximoff? Like Pietro Maximoff?"
"Just not the one from this reality." Peter paused for a moment, then added, "Cause that guy's dead."
Her eyes widened. "You're Wanda's brother from a different reality! I knew it! I knew alternate realities were real! I mean, the science is all there. Plus, all that shit with Thanos and Thor and Loki and that strange doctor guy. Where does stuff go when he makes those circle portals anyway? What about that book that-"
"Darcy, stop!" Jimmy interrupted her rambling. "This is my guy in protection I told you about. I can't talk to you about him."
She shook her head. "Oh, it's too late for that, Jimmy!" She turned to Peter. "Are you like Pietro? Like really fast in real life?"
Peter took off out of the alley and down the road into the nearby neighborhood. He grabbed a lawn ornament out of a garden, ran back and plopped it into Darcy's arms. The whole trip took about a second.
Darcy gaped down at the garden gnome in her arms.
"No! You can't use your powers in front of anyone!" Jimmy yelled.
"But everyone saw me use my powers!" Peter protested.
Jimmy ripped the gnome from Darcy and shoved it at Peter. "Everyone thought it was from Agatha's spell, Ralph Bohner! We're back where we started. Now put this thing back!"
Peter rolled his eyes but ran the garden gnome back to its rightful place.
"Wait!" Darcy held up her hands once he got back a second later. "I need details."
"Those are classified," Jimmy stated.
She looked at Peter.
He smirked. "Sure, I got details."
Jimmy just crossed his arms over his chest, but said nothing. He probably figured between Darcy and Peter, all of the rules were going to be broken no matter what he said.
"Have you ever heard of mutants?"
Darcy shrugged. "Yeah, in bio class. And Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."
"What the hell are those?" Peter asked, incredulous.
"Kids cartoon. Guess you don't have that one where you come from," Darcy said.
"Umm, no. Sounds racist somehow." Peter licked his lips. "How about the X-Men?"
Darcy shook her head.
"Mutant named Magneto trying to assassinate the President in the 1970s? That guy's my father, by the way."
Darcy's eyes widened. "No, I've haven't heard of any of this! So you're from an alternate reality. How'd you get here?"
"The Blip."
"That doesn't make any sense," Darcy frowned. "Half the people here snapped out of existence, and then blipped back five years later, but it shouldn't have affected someone in an alternate reality."
"I know, right?" Peter smiled then glanced at Jimmy. "Although, from some stuff I heard and might have seen in some paperwork, I'm not the only one who blipped back from an alternate reality."
Jimmy looked at him sharply. "Hey, that information is also classified!"
"Then don't leave papers in places where people can see them!" Peter countered.
"They were locked in a file cabinet!"
"Oops, my bad." Peter tried to suppress a smile but filed miserably.
Darcy giggled.
Jimmy rolled his eyes.
"Anyway, I think it's even stranger that I just happened to be put in a safe house in boring Westview only to have my kind-of-sister take the place over and I get put under a spell to essentially be myself in an alternate reality. So weird."
"There's actually been a lot of weird the last decade or so," Darcy commented. "Do you think Agatha knew who you were? She called you Ralph repeatedly."
Peter shrugged. "I don't know. She was in complete control when I was under her spell. Even my speed felt...different somehow. Like it was laced with some kind of drug."
Darcy stepped closer and gently touched is hand. "So scary."
Peter's heart fluttered at this tiny show of tenderness from a woman he suspected usually had a tough exterior. For once in his life, Peter was at a loss for words.
"What are you going to do now?" she asked, her big brown eyes looking into his.
Jimmy frowned at the two of them. "Peter's going to a new safe house far away from here. How does Wyoming sound?"
Peter shuddered. "Nope. Not doing it. I'm not getting stashed out in the middle of nowhere again. I thought you guys were trying to help me, but now I'm pretty sure you just don't know what to do with me."
Jimmy opened his mouth to retort but then closed it. His eyes lowered to the ground and nodded. "You're right, Peter. After what just happened here with Hayward, I really don't know if the government has your best interest at heart."
"Yeah, I'm going to go out on a limb and say certain parts definitely don't," Darcy stated. "So if you aren't going to Wyoming or stay in Westview, where will you go?"
"I don't know. Part of me wants to find a way home. I miss the X-Men. I miss my mom and little sister too. But part of me also feels like the right thing to do here is to help Wanda." Peter pointed at Darcy. "You said something about a strange doctor who makes portals. What's that all about?"
Jimmy answered instead. "That's Doctor Strange."
"His name is actually Doctor Strange?" Peter smirked. "I guess obvious names are the same in both realities."
Darcy laid her hand on his shoulder. "I know some people who could help us find him."
"Us? Don't you have better things to do than traipse around with me? Like avoiding briefings?"
Darcy gave him a mischievous smile. "Nah, this sounds a lot more fun."